Chapter 4 The Celestial Academy's Rigid Qualifications

Several meters away from the bar, between two buildings, the young man in the luxurious clothes was standing in front of the youth, who was now caught in a multicolored palm. The youth felt annoyed as he stared at the young man. He thought he'd escaped capture by fleeing through the window, but the person chasing him turned out to be a clone of his brother. And to his frustration, more clones were waiting outside ready to trap him. Though he had managed to evade four, the real body suddenly appeared when he was catching his breath, thus he was effortlessly captured. With the pursed lips youth said, "It's not fair. When were you able to conjure four clones? Your limit was only two five months ago!" The young man gave his little brother an indifferent look before saying, "I could ask you the same thing about your Elusive Ghost Steps. It was only at the Greater Mastery Stage around that time as well, but now it's at the Perfection Stage. You're even one stage away from Completion." The youth snorted and said unconvinced, "I was holding back, how else could you have caught me?" "Oh?" As if he wanted to dampen his little brother's false bravado, the young man said. "How do you know my limit is only four clones?" Upon hearing that, the youth's expression fell. The young man's body then began to shine, making his already dazzling clothes look even more splendid. What followed was a plum blossom appearing on his forehead that had six petals, each with different colors ranging from gold, red, violet, azure, pink and black. After the multicolored plum blossom appeared, five petals duplicated and fell from his forehead. They were the golden petal, the violet petal, the red petal, the pink petal, and the azure petal. All five petals were still visible on his forehead, but the duplicates spread out and then began to form clones of himself. Five clones identical to the handsome young man were now standing behind him, each with a different color petal on their foreheads. The youth's expression changed various times before he begrudgingly muttered, "Bastard, do you think your so-called Divine Lotus is special or something?" The youth also thought internally. ‘Did you also forget how you even got that thing? The only problem is that you weren't supposed to unlock those plum blossom petals until you were a few hundred years old, much less the fifth one when you're barely twenty, bastard.' The young man frowned at the youth’s words and then raised his hand to flick his forehead while saying, "That's elder brother to you, you little shit. Are you drunk?" The youth grunted as the finger made contact with his forehead. "Hiccup... what? It's just water with coloring in it, I definitely didn't switch with my own wine! Ouch..." The youth received another flick. Even though there was no force behind the hit, just a casual flick of his brother's finger was enough to crack a normal person's head open. However, the only outcome was a bright red mark appearing on the youth's forehead, and a sudden migraine racking his brain. With a strange expression on his face, Fu Wei said, "Father said to come and get you. The Disciple Selection Ceremony for the Celestial Academy is about to start." Hearing that, the youth sighed and said. "Why do I have to attend an Academy? As the second prince of the Maple Continent's Royal Family, couldn't I just get one of those old bones hiding away in the Imperial Palace to teach me about cultivation? Attending an Academy is seems like a waste of time." Fu Wei shook his head and his tone became serious as he said, "Little Shen, an Academy contains a vast amount of knowledge about cultivation and has as many techniques as there are clouds in the sky. Even if you could get one of the ancestors to teach you, he would only be able to teach you the techniques he knows. But who's to say those techniques would be right for you? If you start on the path of cultivation and it's the wrong one, then there's no way to turn back. Those ancestors have already found their own path of cultivation to reach the Great Dao, being influenced by them and following in their foots-steps will lead you on fake path, practically a dead end with no return." As Fu Wei spoke to Xi Shen like a teacher teaching his student, Xi Shen wore a look of annoyance on his face. “This idiot is actually lecturing me. Just how comical is my current situation? As someone who was reincarnated from the God Era with sufficient knowledge, if anyone should be preaching about the path to the Great Dao, it should be me, ha-ha. And the most ironic thing of all is the fact that the method used in this era to reach the so called 'Great Dao', was invented by my research! Truly, my knowledge knows no bounds, going to that academy is really just a waste of time. *Tsk*Tsk*' As Xi Shen mocked his older brother in his mind while shamelessly boasting about himself, Fu Wei finally finished his rant and then said. "So, now do you understand why you must attend the Celestial Academy?" Rolling his eyes, Xi Shen mumbled a response. "Whatever, I'll just enter like Father wants and then run away when no one is looking." Fu Wei couldn't help but let out a sigh of resignation when he heard that. "You're too much for me to handle alone, I'll just hand you over to father and let him deal with you." As saying that, Fu Wei dissipated his five clones and then flew in the air with a swoosh. A bored-looking Xi Shen followed in tow within the firmly clenched multicolored hand behind him. …. The Celestial Academy was the most prestigious cultivation institute on the Maple Continent. It was the goal of many youths, whether they were from affluent families or poor backgrounds, to enter through their doors and embark on their path of cultivation. However, the one thing that stands between them and living a life of prestige was having enough talent. The Celestial Academy placed talent above all else, and only heavenly prodigies would have a chance of entering through their doors. During their Disciple Selection Ceremony, the youths must meet two qualifications to enter. Out of their two qualifications, the first one was simple, an individual has to be at most 13 years old or younger. The second qualification, however, was where the youths looking to change their fate become filled with trepidation. To enter the Celestial Academy, one needs to have a Sky-Grade level Foundation, a Sky-Grade level Soul, and a Sky-Grade level comprehension. This can also be known as having a Sky-Grade innate talent. This, to some, would leave them reeling in shock. On the Maple Continent, the grades of those three attributes, Foundation grade, Soul grade, and Comprehension grade, determine how far a person can reach on their path of cultivation. All three are categorized by the same levels, Human-Grade, Earth-Grade, Sky-Grade, Heaven-Grade, and Supreme-Grade. A person with Human-Grade foundation, Human-Grade soul, and Human-Grade comprehension is considered to have Human-Grade innate talent. To be classified as having Earth-Grade innate talent or higher, at least two of those attributes must be at the Earth-Grade level. The most common innate talent among the youths taking the test was Human-Grade, with Earth-grade appearing a few times. Even having someone who possesses a single Sky-Grade attribute would mark that person as a prodigy that several Sects would fight over. To find someone who has a Sky-Grade for all three attributes was like finding a needle in an ocean. There are occasional prodigies that possess all three attributes, with some even reaching Heaven-Grade for one of them. However, in a group of youths, more often than not there would only be a few that are Sky-Grade geniuses. Many lamented at the Celestial Academy's rigid requirement, but despite complaints, they maintained those standards even with the prospect of accepting fewer official disciples. Those who didn’t meet the standards can either settle for a Servant Disciple position, or find another Sect. The higher the grade of a disciple’s attributes, the greater their cultivation talent would be. So, despite having fewer official disciples than normal Sects, the Celestial Academy was still the number one holy grounds of cultivations on the Maple Continent, with all of their official disciples being heavenly phoenixes and prideful dragons.