When Wang Baole passed out in grief and fury, the real sky above was already split by a streak of crimson.
The red hot-air–spirit airship was racing forward at full speed, just about to enter the territory of Piaomiao City.
Inside the main cabin, however, it was anything but peaceful.
"Wang Baole, our Alchemy Department is taking him!"
"Get lost, Combat Department's already claimed him, he's mine!"
Almost every instructor in the room was red in the face, slapping tables and shouting over one another, fiercely arguing about which department Wang Baole should join after he entered the Dao Academy.
All of this came from the shock Wang Baole had given them.
That blood-soaked, mangled body… even these experienced teachers couldn't help but be moved. And his words—each sentence had crashed into their hearts like thunder. Especially that last one; it had stirred up waves inside every one of them.
"Alive, I am a man of the Academy. Dead, I am a soul of the Academy!"
The courage and loyalty in that line were exactly what the Dao Academy—and every department in it—hungered for. A seed student like that? How could they let him fall into someone else's hands?
As they fought over him, a thin, goateed middle-aged instructor, seeing he was losing ground, suddenly grit his teeth, snatched out the jade ID card from his robes, poured spirit power into it, and roared:
"I, the Armament Department, am using our once-in-five-years authority to pre-assign Wang Baole as a special-recruit student of my department. Let's see who still dares fight me for him!"
As soon as he spoke, the jade token in his hand flared with light. On the crystal display, behind the name "Wang Baole," three new characters appeared at once—
Armament Department.
Everyone drew in a sharp breath.
That authority was far too precious.
Normally, once students entered the Academy, it was always the students applying and the teachers screening, deciding whether to accept them into their own department. Only for a very small number of students would a department take the initiative and extend an olive branch.
Even then, it was mutual choice on both sides.
The only exception… was the special authority each department held once every five years.
This authority allowed them to directly lock in one student as a member of their department. No discussion. No refusal. It also came bundled with near-extravagant benefits and resources, along with several special privileges. Compared to their peers, such a student was almost being handed the department's mantle.
Because of that, this privilege was usually reserved for students with terrifying backgrounds, or those so outstanding they stood at the very peak.
It was incredibly precious.
Wang Baole was certainly impressive, but in most people's eyes… using this kind of privilege on him was still a little hard to swallow. Several instructors could only smile wryly and shake their heads.
Seeing their expressions, the goateed teacher felt he had made exactly the right move. In his heart he was delighted.
With a temperament like Wang Baole's, he thought, if we nurture him well, his loyalty to the Armament Department will be absolute. He'll die before he betrays us.
"Talent can still go astray one day. Only temperament and loyalty are worth more than gold. At the critical moment, only that kind of disciple will stand up, only then is it not a waste to raise them!"
Thinking that, the goateed teacher grew even more pleased with himself. He glanced sideways at the old medical officer who had been frowning the whole time, staring thoughtfully at Wang Baole's file.
"Headmaster," the goateed teacher said loudly, "our Armament Department has already burned our once-in-five-years privilege on Wang Baole. Don't be biased against us now."
"Relax," the old medical officer replied, eyes still on the file. "He's yours now. Just make sure you don't regret it."
For Piaomiao Dao Academy, every student who passed the entrance exams had a file. From childhood until now, their information was extremely detailed.
At this moment, the old medical officer was staring at one particular line, and the look in his eyes was growing sharper and sharper.
"Headmaster, you…" The goateed teacher was taken aback. The other instructors also looked over, a bit puzzled.
"'Once went on a month-long diet, ate nothing, drank nothing, exercised like mad, yet his weight not only failed to drop, it actually went up…'" the old medical officer read aloud, then gave a cold little laugh. "Something impossible for a normal person… but it shows up on him."
He flipped to another page—the physiological data readouts for all the students inside the dream-illusion formation—and his gaze locked onto the weight data recorded for Wang Baole throughout the exam.
"If I'm not mistaken," the old medical officer said, lifting his head, voice firm as iron, "Wang Baole realized long ago that this was a false world, that this was an exam. He's been cheating."
"That's impossible…" The goateed teacher sucked in a breath, clutching his chest. His vision went a little dark.
"Whether it's cheating or not, we only need to test him," the old medical officer said. He stared at Wang Baole's figure inside the crystal screen, lifted his right hand, and made a swift gesture over the formation controls.
At once, in the illusionary world—
The students who had just narrowly survived were still basking in the joy of it when a heaven-shaking roar suddenly exploded from the jungle ahead of them, sweeping out like a storm.
Ancient trees were shredded to splinters by the soundwave, bursting apart in midair. The ground shook violently as a gigantic bear, ten zhang tall, clawed its way up from the earth and reared back, roaring at the sky.
Half its massive body was rotted away, yet ghost-fire burned in its eyes.
It radiated a crushing, terrifying pressure, as if it really were the overlord of this jungle. Birds and beasts everywhere trembled.
"T-This… that's impossible. Heaven help us, that's… the Ancient Savage Ghost Bear!"
"It can rip a second-level Ancient Martial expert apart with its bare hands. It's on par with someone at the peak of Ancient Martial Realm… that's the Ancient Savage Ghost Bear!"
Liu Daobin's legs nearly gave out. Little White Rabbit, Du Min, and the others all stared in pure horror. Even the red-clothed youth's face changed drastically.
Worse, after its roar, the ghost bear charged straight for them.
Each step shook the earth. Its presence surged up to the heavens.
"Run!!"
Someone shouted, and everyone scattered on instinct. Even the red-clothed youth's face went pale. He gave up on attacking and bolted backwards at full speed.
Only Wang Baole had just been jolted awake from his faint.
When his eyes landed on that brutal monster, they widened—and suddenly lit up.
His weak chest rose and fell violently.
"There are bonus points too!"
Overwhelmed with excitement, Wang Baole dug his fingers into the ground and began to crawl desperately toward the giant bear, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Everyone, run! Don't worry about me—I'll hold it off for you!"
He snatched up a rock and hurled it at the approaching beast.
"Hey, old bear! Eat me! As long as I, Wang Baole, still draw breath, I'll never let you hurt my classmates!"
He shouted with everything he had. The students who were fleeing looked back—and were moved to the core once again. Several girls burst into tears on the spot.
The enormous bear thundered toward him, blotting out the sky. It seemed like it would tear him in half in the very next instant.
Inside the airship's main cabin, the old medical officer was wearing a cold sneer.
"See?" he said. "Look at his eyes. He's excited. Have any of you ever seen someone about to die look like that? He's terrified he won't die."
The other instructors found themselves pulling strange faces as they studied the scene.
Viewed with a normal mindset, Wang Baole was a tragic hero.
Viewed with suspicion…
The cracks in his act started to show.
"This little brat is too shameless."
"Cheating is one thing, but he's laying it on so thick!"
Even the teachers, used to all kinds of students, were starting to feel they couldn't watch anymore. As for the goateed instructor, his teeth were clenched so hard they nearly cracked. Regret flooded him. His heart was bleeding; he was one step away from pounding his chest and howling.
"Heavens… my once-in-five-years privilege…"
At last, the old medical officer flicked his right hand again. The scenes within the crystal all shattered into fragments and dissolved into nothing.
"All right," he said. "We're about to arrive at the Academy. The exam is over."
Inside the collapsing dream-illusion, the last thing Wang Baole saw was the giant bear's body blotting out the sky. Then both the beast and the world around it blurred into muddy chaos and went pitch black.
When his consciousness returned, his entire body jolted violently, as though some great force had shoved him forward.
He opened his eyes.
He was back in the spirit-cultivation cabin of the airship.
All around him, voices rose in shock and disbelief.
"Weren't we just in the Chiyun Rainforest? What… what's going on?"
"Was I dreaming alone, or did everyone just have the same dream?"
Wang Baole blinked rapidly and hurried to arrange his expression into one of blank confusion. He even shouted loudly, still playing his role:
"Run! Don't worry about me! Old bear, I'll fight you to the end!"
His voice was so loud that it was impossible to ignore. On top of that, his performance inside the illusion had been so "heroic" that the moment he shouted, countless gazes turned toward him.
Especially the students near him.
"It's Wang Baole, bro Baole!"
"Good brother!!"
"Wang Baole, from now on you're my big bro!"
More eyes found him—Du Min's, Little White Rabbit's. Having just survived what felt like a brush with death, the way they looked at him had clearly changed. Little White Rabbit's eyes were brimming with tears. If not for the magnetic spirit suits and the distance between them, she looked like she might have thrown herself at him already.
All of this filled Wang Baole's heart with smug satisfaction. He was just thinking of how best to harvest this wave of admiration when a dignified voice boomed through the cabin.
"New students," the voice said, echoing in all their ears, "the land below you is where our Dao Academy stands. Everything you just experienced was our Piaomiao Dao Academy's entrance examination. Your results will be recorded in your academic credits…"
The voice paused.
"Lastly—welcome to Piaomiao Dao Academy."
There was a power in that dignified tone that calmed the heart. Perhaps it was that, or perhaps it was the mention that they had arrived, but one by one, the students shook off the daze of the illusion and came fully awake.
All of them turned to look out through the cabin windows.
Wang Baole was a little regretful, but he couldn't suppress the excitement rising within him. When he looked out, he saw it at once.
Below, a vast lake lay spread across the earth like a mirror, reflecting the color of the sky. It was beautiful beyond words.
Three islands sat on the surface of the lake in a straight line. Boats traveled constantly between them. As the airship descended, they could even make out the antique buildings on each island and the countless figures moving among them.
The outermost island alone held tens of thousands of people; it looked like a small city.
"Our Piaomiao Dao Academy," the voice continued, "was once known as Piaomiao Academy. It was founded in the year 2348 of the Common Era. It has witnessed the Federation era, fought in the Savage Beast War, and entered the Age of Spirit Origin. It changed from Academy to Dao Academy and has now been in existence for over seven hundred years.
"It has nurtured more geniuses and heroes than can be counted, and made outstanding contributions to the progress of our civilization. The previous President of the Federation graduated from Piaomiao Dao Academy."
"The lake you see is called Qingmu Lake. Qingmu—the green wood of youth, years that flow like water, carefree as grazing herds. It signifies joy, like the hearts of the young."
"As for the three islands, they are the core Tianxing Island, the Upper Academy Island for true-breath Dao disciples, and the Lower Academy Island for you new students. Together, they uphold the motto of our Dao Academy: Above, we change the sun and moon for the heavens. Below, we bring peace to the common folk."
That proud voice resounded in the spirit-cultivation cabin. The pride in it seeped into everyone's hearts. Even Wang Baole found himself stirred by the momentum and heritage of Piaomiao Dao Academy.
As the Lower Academy Island grew rapidly in the students' vision, they saw that this largest island held more than ten towering peaks, like unsheathed swords pointed at the sky.
Each mountain was dotted with countless buildings.
On their slopes, huge characters had been carved, so big they were clearly visible even from the sky.
Armament Department, Alchemy Department, Combat Department, Inscription Array Department…
There wasn't time to read them all.
With a thunderous boom, everyone's bodies shook as the airship—which had flown thousands of li from Phoenix City—finally descended and landed on the Lower Academy Island of Piaomiao Dao Academy!
Piaomiao Dao Academy—
They had arrived.