Protect Our Clan Leader

Chapter 488: Chapter 13 Li Yao! I’m Coming to the Academic Palace_4

Lu Xianghui looked toward the voice and greeted politely, “It’s Senior Brother Jiang from Changchun Valley. Looking at your calm presence and refined grace, I suspect you’re already at Level Eight of the Vital Energy Refining Realm. Congratulations, Senior Brother Jiang.”

This Senior Brother Jiang was named Jiang Kangpeng, roughly around twenty-four or twenty-five, and had entered the academy three years before him. Though they were not from the same lineage, they had become acquainted due to shared interest in undertaking small tasks within the academy.

Jiang Kangpeng was a kind person who had given Lu Xianghui lots of guidance and assistance in the early days, which Lu Xianghui still remembered gratefully.

The two of them headed to the Thousand Autumn Hall, chatting along the way.

In the Thousand Autumn Hall, as usual, a crowd of academy disciples had gathered to receive their tasks and exchange their study points.

Because a triennial inter-academy contest was held recently, there was an unusual number of disciples exchanging study points. As there were some disciplices in the hall who had taken leave, the hall was momentarily overwhelmed. There they waited, scattered in groups of three or four, chatting and laughing among themselves. @@novelbin@@

With numerous disciples in the academy, and each peak and lineage operating independently, there were always amusing or newsworthy events happening each day, leaving no shortage of topics to discuss.

However, their most frequent topic of conversation remained the recently-held inter-academy contest.

Before each intake of new disciples, the academy hosts an intra-academy contest to test the learning outcomes of the disciples. The winning lineage gets the privilege of selecting some of the most promising new disciples of their choice.

Moreover, following the contest, the disciples from each peak and lineage can receive study points rewards based on their performance. Some who perform exceptionally well might be selected by a master to become a Core Disciple, or even a Direct Disciple.

As a result, those who performed well and scored well naturally became the center of attention. Especially the core disciples from each peak and lineage, they were the main focus of everyone’s attention.

“In this contest, Senior Brothers Zongsheng and Jianye from Mysterious Ice Palace stole the show again. In my opinion, Mysterious Ice Palace’s next core disciple will probably be chosen from the two of them.”

“Also, Senior Brother Lexian from Tian Lake School of the Primordial Water performed spectacularly in the contest. I was there watching during the contest… His strength was truly commendable! Core Disciples are indeed in a league of their own, we are no match for them.”

“I heard that Master Yuan Shui plans to take a Direct Disciple this year. Isn’t Senior Brother Lexian’s dedication in the contest for the Direct Disciple position? I think he has a high chance of achieving his goal this time.”

A few young disciples gathered together to share their observations and experiences from the previous day, their faces ablaze with awe and excitement.

“What a shame that the Direct Disciples didn’t participate in the contest, otherwise, we could have seen their prowess up close.” One disciple sighed regretfully.

Another disciple sneered, “If the Direct Disciples participated in the contest, would the Core Disciples have had a chance to shine? And the reward for first place in the group under sixty years old is only three hundred study points, what use would that be for a Direct Disciple?”

“I’ve heard that Direct Disciples in the Spirit Platform Realm are granted one hundred study points every month, which is more than what we can earn in a year. Even the Core Disciples in the Spirit Platform Realm receive a fixed allowance of thirty study points each month. If not for the race to secure the position of a Direct Disciple, they would not have participated so eagerly in the contest.”

Lu Xianghui and Jiang Kangpeng were standing in the crowd, listening to this conversation with both excitement and anticipation. Sadly, they were still at the Vital Energy Refining Realm and not eligible to participate in the contest.

However, considering their qualifications and strengths, even if they reach the Spirit Platform Realm and participate in the contest, they would only be bit-part players. For a disciple to truly shine in the contest, they would at least need to be an excellent disciple in the Spirit Platform Realm with a Double Bloodline.

As the disciples continued to chat among themselves,

Suddenly, a massive elephant-like spirit mount stepped onto the square, causing the ground to tremble with each step.

Lu Xianghui’s eyes lit up, “Isn’t that Senior Brother Zhang Xiuping from Leisure Peak with his spirit mount, the Ancient Blood Spiritual Elephant?”

Zhang Xiuping was the Core Disciple of Leisure Peak, already at Level Four in the Spirit Platform Realm. However, as he was over sixty years old, he no longer participated in the triennial contests.

Despite this, his name still echoed loudly through the academy. At over sixty years of age, he had already reached the Mid Stage of the Spirit Platform Realm; it seemed inevitable that he would reach the Heavenly Human Realm in the coming future.

He was naturally one of the idols many young disciples admired.

After leaving his Ancient Blood Spiritual Elephant behind, Zhang Xiuping set off for the Thousand Autumn Hall. Many greeted and saluted him respectfully along the way.

In his earlier years, Zhang Xiuping was competitive and enjoyed practicing martial arts against others. Now, he was much more reserved, and would nod in response to salutes from Vital Energy Refining Realm disciples.

Just as Lu Xianghui was saluting Zhang Xiuping, he suddenly heard a sweet voice beside his ear, “Excuse me, senior brother, are you a disciple from the Tian Lake School of the Primordial Water?”

Lu Xianghui quickly turned his head, only to find an ordinary looking girl greeting him.

“Greetings, junior sister.” Lu Xianghui returned the greeting, “My name is Lu Xianghui, I am indeed an ordinary disciple of Tian Lake School of Primordial Water, may I ask where you are from, junior sister?”

After a brief glance, he couldn’t figure out her cultivation base, assuming that she must be using concealment equipment.

“My name is Wang Liyao, I am a prospective disciple preparing to join the academy this year.” Said the “plain-looking” Wang Liyao, in a polite manner.

The “ordinary-looking” Wang Liyao was naturally Wang Shouzhe’s beloved daughter.

…