Before Sun Yue entered Kunlun Academy, he was also arrogant, and though not from the five major sects, he was considered a favored son of heaven, a prominent figure.
But after entering Kunlun Academy, he discovered that geniuses were precisely what this place lacked.
After all, each of them had been selected through layers of assessments.
He once, like Xu Yi and others, had expected himself to be different, but after a century, his arrogance here was ground to dust.
Therefore, his words were both a reminder to Xu Yi and his companions, and a reflection of himself.
“Senior Brother Sun, don’t speak too definitively, it wouldn’t be good if you’re slapped in the face later.”
Xu Yi smiled slightly, her words laced with sarcasm.
Sun Yue, having lost his fighting spirit, shouldn’t have projected the same mindset onto them.
On the way here, Xu Yi had already noticed flaws in Kunlun Academy’s ranking system.
No, it shouldn’t be called flaws, but rather something deliberately done by Kunlun Academy.
Kunlun Academy did not rank based on martial prowess but used merit points as a reference, which already indicated one thing.
The disciples Kunlun Academy wanted to cultivate were not just those with the highest cultivation or strongest combat power, but those who were outstanding in all aspects.
This meant that the top-ranked individuals were not necessarily the ones with the highest cultivation, but those with the strongest overall abilities.
Here, the level of cultivation did not represent absolute strength.
Therefore, even though they were the latest batch of disciples to enter the academy, it did not mean they would always be at the bottom.
“You…” Sun Yue felt he was being talked back to by Xu Yi and wanted to reprimand her a few times, but he suddenly stopped, adopting a look of disdain. “You’re being stubborn now, you’ll know when the time comes. Just don’t end up crying.”
Sun Yue was already anticipating the day when the light in their eyes would fade.
At that time, he would definitely mock them severely.
“We won’t cry!”
Yu Xiaoyu frowned, finding Senior Brother Sun’s words very grating, and began to retort.
“Alright, alright, I won’t argue with you. We’ll see who’s right in the future.”
Sun Yue’s lips curved into a mocking arc.
One wouldn’t shed tears until seeing the coffin.
“Alright, all of you, stop talking. I’ll explain from now on.”
Dai Sheng, seeing the battle of words between the two sides subside, quickly stepped in to mediate.
“The first tower ahead is called the Endless Trial. You can only enter it once a month. Once you enter, the trial begins. For every stage you pass, you will receive corresponding merit points. The stages inside are almost endless; unless you voluntarily withdraw, you will remain inside indefinitely.”
“The difficulty of each stage increases, and the possibility of injury is extremely high, even carrying the risk of death. Therefore, if you feel you can no longer proceed, withdraw immediately without hesitation.”
Xu Yi frowned. The name Endless Trial itself sounded immensely oppressive.
“And the second tower after that is called the Ascent. It consists of countless steps. With each step upwards, you will encounter a question, and only by answering correctly can you continue to ascend,” Dai Sheng continued.
“This doesn’t sound too dangerous?”
Sun Yue said coldly, “Hmph, that’s because Dai Sheng forgot to mention something. With every step upwards, the body will be subjected to gravitational compression. Even if you answer the question, if your body cannot withstand it, you still cannot climb higher.”
Forcing oneself upwards would only result in being crushed into a pulp by gravity.
“And the last one is…”
“The last one is the Combat Arena.”
It was Sun Yue who answered Xu Yi’s question.
He looked at the last tower with a look of apprehension.
“For cultivators to break through, besides cultivation, combat is also a very fast way to improve their cultivation. Therefore, this Combat Arena is the place for battles.
There, you can freely choose the enemy you want, then wager merit points and fight them. If you lose, merit points will be deducted, and victory will be rewarded with a certain amount of merit points based on the enemy’s strength.”
Dai Sheng said solemnly, “There was a senior brother who, in order to break through, chose an opponent two ranks higher than him. Due to the significant gap in strength, he died in the Combat Arena. You must fight within your capabilities when you go there.”
After the explanations from Sun Yue and Dai Sheng, Xu Yi and the others finally had a general understanding of Kunlun Academy.
In Xu Yi’s opinion, Kunlun Academy was a very interesting place, and she began to feel fortunate about her decision to join.
Sun Yue, feeling that he had completed his task, had no intention of staying to converse with them any further and directly pulled Dai Sheng away.
Xu Yi and the others also had no intention of keeping him and returned along the same path to Courtyard Number Forty-Four.
On the way, Xu Yi asked, “What are your plans for tomorrow?”
“I want to go to the Beast Taming Tower.”
“Sword Pavilion.”
“This humble monk will go to the Pagoda of Buddhist Teachings.”
“Lu Zaiye, Yu Xiaoyu, Bai Shan, what about the three of you?”
“Endless Trial,” Lu Zaiye said lightly.
Among these places, only the Endless Trial piqued his interest slightly.
“You’re going to the Endless Trial tomorrow?” Xu Yi’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“Yes.”
“Me too.” Bai Shan scratched his head and smiled.
Endless Trial?
It must be extremely interesting.
Lu Zaiye glanced at him, a faint glint flashing quickly in his eyes.
“Xu Yi, how about we go to the Artifact Hall together tomorrow?” Yu Xiaoyu looked at Xu Yi expectantly.
She knew Xu Yi also refined artifacts, and she would definitely go to the Artifact Hall. Why not go together, so they could look out for each other?
In the face of unknown places, Yu Xiaoyu was still a little timid.
“Sure.”
Xu Yi agreed immediately without hesitation.
“Xu Yi, you’re so nice.”
Yu Xiaoyu’s eyes curved as she smiled.
Yu Xiaoyu looked quite pretty when she smiled. Xiong Zhuangzhuang, standing beside her, unconsciously had a thought flash through his mind.
The next day happened to be the first of March.
The rankings were gone, leaving only the disciples’ names, and Xu Yi and the others’ names were prominently displayed.
From today onwards, Xu Yi and the others were considered officially joined in Kunlun Academy, and they would participate in the monthly rankings.
After Xu Yi and Yu Xiaoyu arrived at the Artifact Hall, they did not enter but stopped outside the entrance. At this moment, they both felt a bit nervous.
“Hey, new ones, if you’re not going in, don’t stand at the doorway and block the path.”
A slightly arrogant voice sounded from behind the two of them, and they quickly moved aside.
They saw a man dressed flamboyantly, with delicate features, looking at them with disdain, his expression eerily similar to Shangguan Yuquan’s when he first met them.
After Xu Yi and Yu Xiaoyu made way, the man not only did not enter but stopped in front of them and continued with a barrage of sarcastic remarks.
“New ones, did you come to the wrong place? Is this a place you two should be? The Immortal Music Tower is up ahead.”
“Excuse me, the place we came to is the Artifact Hall,” Xu Yi replied with a forced smile.
“Ha? You two also refine artifacts?”
The man covered his mouth and chuckled exaggeratedly, but a sliver of wariness quietly arose in his heart.
He was the pride of the Artifact Hall. Now that there were two more women, wouldn’t they steal his thunder?
No, he had to suppress them properly and let them know that he was still the most beautiful ‘overlord flower’ of the Artifact Hall.