Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

More and more people completed the Trial Road, and after half a month, every Martial Artist who managed to finish it had arrived at the Academy.

Of the several thousand who started, only a little over a hundred had reached the Academy, a testament to the staggering elimination rate. And that was just from Yunlu County. Across the four Trial Roads of the entire Yanhuang Country, there were at least ten thousand participants, but no more than a thousand would ever pass.

Early in the morning, Lin Yun and the others were led to one of the Academy’s lecture halls. The Trial Takers who had passed the Trial Road from all four counties gathered together, though their numbers were a mere one thousand.

"First of all, congratulations on passing the Trial Road," a middle-aged man said as he stepped up to the lectern. "You can now be considered students of the Academy. But don’t celebrate just yet. What I am about to say concerns your future accomplishments."

The man then began to explain some of Yanhuang Academy’s rules and its class system.

Naturally, what caught Lin Yun’s attention the most was the class system. The students of Yanhuang Academy were divided into four levels: the Large Class, the Small Class, the Elite Class, and the Genius Class.

The Large Class was for the lowest-tier students, and the resources they received were pitifully scarce. Each Large Class had over a hundred students, and the entire Academy had ten of them. However, despite having the largest student population, these classes received a pathetic five percent of the resources.

Above the Large Class was the Small Class. Each class had fifty students, and the Academy also had ten of these. The resources they received were still scarce, amounting to only fifteen percent.

These two tiers were the lot of ordinary Martial Artists. They accounted for eighty percent of the Academy’s student body but were only allocated twenty percent of its resources.

It was worth mentioning that any scion of a Noble Family who entered the Academy would, at a minimum, be placed in a Small Class. This was yet another instance of preferential treatment. Generally, students in the Large Class were those with no powerful background and mediocre aptitude, leaving them relegated to the lowest tier.

Furthermore, students in the Large and Small Classes could only stay at the Academy for ten years. If they failed to get promoted within that time, they would have to leave, no longer receiving the Academy’s instruction or protection.

Promotion meant that if you were a Large Class student, you had to become a Small Class student within ten years. If you were a Small Class student, you had to become an Elite Class student within ten years.

Further up were the Elite Class students. Each Elite Class was personally instructed by a teacher at the Qi Sea Realm Eighth Layer or higher. Each class had only twenty students and was allocated thirty percent of the Academy’s resources.

Once a student entered the Elite Class, it was said that as long as they became a Qi Sea Realm expert, they could, at the very least, secure a minor official post in Yanhuang Country.

As for the top-level Genius Class, its students were treated like treasures at Yanhuang Academy. Even the regular Academy teachers treated them with great respect.

The teachers of the Genius Class were all Primordial Ocean Realm experts. The number of students in each Genius Class was variable, as it depended entirely on the personal preferences of the Primordial Ocean Realm expert in charge.

Yanhuang Academy had no more than ten Primordial Ocean Realm experts, and every single one was a renowned figure in Yanhuang Country. If your talent caught the eye of one of these experts, you would, without a doubt, instantly become a student of the Genius Class.

Then, you would enjoy the Academy’s immense resources. It was said that for any student in the Genius Class, becoming a Martial Artist at the Qi Sea Realm Eighth Layer or higher was a certainty. In the future, they were destined to become powerful and influential figures in Yanhuang Country.

However, becoming a student of the Genius Class was not so simple. The Primordial Ocean Realm experts had extremely high standards; ordinary geniuses were barely worth a second glance in their eyes.

Across the entire Yanhuang Academy, there were currently fewer than twenty students in the Genius Class. Among the ten Primordial Ocean Realm experts, that was an average of only two students each. Some experts hadn’t even found a suitable student yet, which just went to show how difficult it was to be accepted into the Genius Class.

Learning of Yanhuang Academy’s class system, everyone’s eyes burned with ambition. They didn’t dare to dream of the Genius Class, but ’if I could just become a student of the Elite Class...’

Many were lost in their own fantasies. Having completed the Trial Road, they were, without a doubt, all considered geniuses in their respective families.

Seeing their fervent gazes, the middle-aged man chuckled to himself. ’Every batch of newcomers who complete the Trial Road thinks they’re geniuses. But after just one week at the Academy, they’ll wake up and realize that here, at Yanhuang Academy, they’re just part of the ordinary crowd.’

It was no exaggeration to say that Yanhuang Academy was a hub for all the geniuses in Yanhuang Country. Here, every single person was a genius from their own family. The competition was, in essence, a clash of geniuses.

You might be a recognized genius in your family, but upon arriving at Yanhuang Academy, you become just another ordinary person.

"Alright. Remember to firmly memorize the Academy’s rules. Those who break them will, at best, be expelled. At worst, you will have your cultivation crippled."

After announcing that class assignments would begin the next day, the middle-aged man left the lecture hall. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

On the way back, Li Tian’s chatterbox nature resurfaced. He babbled at Lin Yun the whole way, "Lin Yun, I bet you’ll definitely get into the Genius Class. If even you can’t make it, then who can?"

Whenever there was no danger, Li Tian simply couldn’t contain his talkative nature. Now, safe within the Academy’s walls, he was back to being endlessly annoying.

"Hmph, three little ants, and you actually want to be Genius Class students? You really don’t know your place. Pfft." Li Tian’s words were overheard by two passing students, who both spoke with expressions of utter contempt.

Hearing this, Lin Yun’s gaze fell upon the two. Judging by their attire, they were likely students from the Large Class.

Azure, white, black, and purple were the colors worn by the students of the four tiers. Large Class students wore azure, Small Class students wore white, Elite Class students wore black, and Genius Class students wore purple.

"What are you looking at?" one of the students sneered when he saw Lin Yun looking at him. "Let me tell you, people like you will never become Genius Class students in your entire lives."

"Ignore them. This place is full of guys like that. They think they’re hot stuff just for passing the Trial Road, but in ten years, they’ll just end up crawling out of the Academy with their tails between their legs."

The two walked right past Lin Yun and his friends, making no effort to hide the mocking expressions on their faces.

"Hey... did you hear? I heard they already added two new students to the Genius Class this year. And both of them are gorgeous."

"Really? We’re usually lucky if even one person makes it into the Genius Class. I can’t believe there are already two this year."

"Yeah, and you have no idea, these two women are absolute goddesses. If I could just say a single word to either of them, I could die happy."

"Do you know who they are?"

"I think one is named Lan Xi, no idea where she’s from. The other is the daughter of General Lu from Iron Gate Pass, Lu Bingning."

Lin Yun, who had already walked some distance away, overheard their conversation. The moment he heard the name "Lan Xi," he stopped dead in his tracks.

’Lan Xi...’