September, golden autumn.
The weather in the north was only at its best during this month. It was neither hot nor cold, the sky was clear and the clouds were thin.
"It's another good season for training!" Feng Liuyun sighed as he gazed at the gate of the Big Dipper Mountain.
The gate of the Big Dipper Mountain was also the gate of the North Style Academy. Many people had arrived at this time. September was the day when the North Style Academy recruited new students.
There weren't many people who were qualified to come to the North Style Academy. It wouldn't do to casually pass by and say that they were here to register.
Those who were qualified to register first had to get a recommendation.
This recommendation wasn't easy to come by. The North Style Academy only accepted three kinds of recommendations.
The first was the recommendation from the people of the Big Dipper Mountain. Everyone could only get one recommendation every year.
The second was the recommendation from other academies. The 442 academies on the continent's prestige list all had this recommendation. The only difference was that those at the top had more qualifications, while those at the bottom had very few or none.
The third was the martial competition held by all kinds of practitioners on the continent, and even the initiatives of the three empires. Some of them were recognized by the North Style Academy, and some were even related. The winners could be considered as getting a recommendation.
And these recommendations would be strictly examined every year.
This was because the recommendation was only a qualification to participate in the trial. This trial was not only a test for the newcomers, but also an examination of the recommendation's qualifications.
If a person recommended a newcomer couldn't pass the trial, the recommendation qualification would be permanently revoked.
If a few people couldn't pass the trial, the academy would lose a few recommendation quotas. Not to mention that this situation would cause the academy's ranking on the prestige list to drop. It would take a lot of effort to get the recommendation quota back.
As for the competition quota, it wasn't that strict. However, it was extremely difficult to obtain an outstanding result in a competition recognized by the North Style Academy. This recommendation was obtained with their lives on the line.
Those who were able to gather in front of the gate were the cream of the crop. However, they hadn't even taken half a step into the North Style Academy. They could only obediently stand outside the gate and wait bitterly.
Looking at them, Feng Liuyun was reminded of himself in the past. He didn't come from any orthodox academy, and he didn't have the fate to get to know the powerful figures from the four great academies. At that time, he was just a wanderer on the continent. In order to survive, he would do anything. Later on, in an intense bet, the opponent, who was in a frenzy of gambling, slammed a letter onto the gambling table with all his might.
What was that? Feng Liuyun didn't know, but everyone else's gaze had changed. The other party was also very arrogant. He wanted to use this unknown thing to bet everything on the table.
There were far more than a thousand taels of gold on the table. However, looking at how the other party looked as if he was willing to risk his life, Flowing Cloud felt curious about what it was.
"I'll bet."
At that time, he didn't even ask and directly pushed all the money on the table out. He liked the excitement of the unknown.
A guy who could lose everything on the table, whether it was gambling skills or luck, was really terrible. In that round, after seeing the dominoes, his opponent's expression immediately changed.
That guy didn't even hesitate to use his Spirit Power. He cheated decisively.
"Cheating?"
Feng Liuyun was furious. He looked down on people who didn't have gambling ethics. That guy was slapped to death on the gambling table on the spot.
The money and the letter were, of course, his.
After that, he was hunted down.
Feng Liuyun had travelled extensively. Most of the time, he was very poor, but he would occasionally have some money. He had revealed a lot of his wealth before, but he had never been hunted down like this.
The problem was naturally that letter.
What kind of letter was so precious?
Feng Liuyun, who had fought a bloody battle to get rid of his pursuers, couldn't figure out what it was. He didn't even know how to read, so how could he understand the meaning of a letter?
Only after he found someone who could read, did he understand what it was.
A recommendation letter from the North Style Academy!
Feng Liuyun's eyes widened. He didn't know how to read. How could he not know the name of the four great academies? This letter was indeed priceless. That kind of bloody battle was worth it.
But then, Feng Liuyun was thinking about how much this letter could be sold for.
That's right. He didn't think of relying on this letter to enter the North Style Academy. The four great academies were extremely precious places in his heart. Was it a place for a guy like him who was born in the mud to go to? It wasn't suitable, it was too inappropriate.
He wholeheartedly thought of selling the letter. His thought was also very simple. Wasn't the recommendation letter from the North Style Academy the easiest to sell near the academy?
Thus, he traveled over land and water to arrive at the foot of the Big Dipper Mountain. He went to the place with the most people. In the end, it was September, and the North Style Academy was testing the newcomers.
He mingled in the queue and asked everywhere, "Recommendation letter, do you want it?"
Who didn't have the qualification to be able to squeeze in there? Everyone treated him as a lunatic. Feng Liuyun also didn't understand. How could the recommendation letter that he had risked his life to protect be so worthless?
Just like that, he passed the letter to the mountain gate in a daze.
"Recommendation letter … …"
He had only said three words when someone took the letter and read it.
Feng Liuyun was very excited. He was waiting to discuss the price, but a test came instead.
After that, he passed the test and mysteriously became a student of the North Style Academy … …
He couldn't bear to recall the past!
Feng Liuyun was filled with sorrow. It would be very difficult to find a second person like him who was able to enter the four great academies.
"Senior Brother Liuyun, it's about time." Just as Feng Liuyun was lost in thought, someone suddenly spoke beside him.
"Oh, oh!" Feng Liuyun came back to his senses and repeatedly responded.
"Then I will go down." Feng Liuyun said and stomped on the ground. Immediately, a colorful light rose from the middle of the mountain and landed at the Big Dipper mountain gate.
The newcomers turned pale with fright.
This was … … Boundless Multicolored Radiance?
After all, those who came here were all outstanding talents. Their horizons weren't ordinary. The North Style Academy's famous rank 5 ability, Boundless Multicolored Radiance, had many people who had heard of it. Seeing such a village-like guy display such a dazzling rank 5 ability, they felt that their horizons had been broadened. The North Style Academy was indeed extraordinary.
"Senior Brother Liuyun is here." However, the North Style student who received the newcomers didn't make a fuss when he saw Feng Liuyun appear in such a manner. He only greeted him normally.
"Mhm, is it my turn?" Feng Liuyun didn't feel anything special and only nodded in response. He didn't do this to show off. It was purely for the sake of traveling. This kind of thing wasn't rare in the North Style Academy. There were over 400 academies in the Continental Academy Ranking, but the Four Great Academies weren't among them. This was because the Four Great Academies were never on the same level as them.
Just look at the newcomers outside the gate. The newcomers who were qualified to enter the North Style Academy could be counted with one's fingers. It was truly difficult to pass the North Style Academy's exam with just a perception realm. Moreover, these students were all reluctantly recommended by the lower-ranked academies. The recommendation quota of the academies was the most difficult. If the recommended student couldn't pass the exam, the academy would lose their recommendation rights, and their ranking would drop. If the academy had a quota but couldn't recommend a student, they would similarly lose their quota and their ranking would drop. Hence, the academies that had a quota would send some students to try their luck. There were even fewer academies that secretly recruited people to ensure their recommendation.
However, the Four Great Academies didn't care. Just by looking at the Big Dipper mountain gate, one could imagine how strong the foundations of the Four Great Academies were. The newcomers who needed to take the exam already had such strength. The starting point of the Four Great Academies was already much higher than the other academies.
And this was only the situation of the academy's recommendation.
The realm of these newcomers might be different, but most of them had extremely high aptitudes or extraordinary bloodlines. They had a future that was worth looking forward to.
There was no need to talk about winning the tournament. The strength of the newcomers was the strongest among the three recommendations. The standard of Linked Two Physical Souls and Three Physical Souls could often be seen among these people. This kind of strength was already at the level of a teacher or even a dean in many academies. The depth of the Four Great Academies could be seen from this.
If even the newcomers were this powerful, one could imagine what the situation in the academy would be like. Connected realm? Special ability? These were the things that were lacking the most in this place. So what if they used the Boundless Sunglow to hasten their journey?
Feng Liuyun didn't take this seriously. After greeting the person, he stood at the side and watched as the guide checked the recommendations one by one. Back then, he had carelessly handed his recommendation letter to the guide here. Then, he participated in the exam together with the other twenty-seven people. And now, he had become the examiner for the twenty-eight newcomers.
"Liuyun, you're almost done." The guide turned his head and called out to him. Of the twenty-eight newcomers that Feng Liuyun was in charge of, he had already checked the last recommendation.
"Yes." Feng Liuyun walked up to the waiting list. He couldn't help but size up the twenty-eighth person. It was a youth that didn't look very old. He didn't have any luggage, and his clothes weren't very neat. His hair was also messy. It looked like he had experienced a very difficult journey. Among the group of newcomers that had adjusted their condition and appearance to their peak, it wasn't appropriate to say that he stood out from the crowd. It was more appropriate to say that he stood out from the crowd.
However, his expression was very calm. He stood there quietly, waiting for the guide to check and recommend him.
The receptionist opened his letter and glanced at it.
Personal recommendation.
The personal recommendation didn't need to be verified with the name, but the soul force mark left on the letter. Then, it would be compared with the soul force mark left in the academy. It was a small method of customizing special abilities. The guide held the letter in his left hand and placed his right hand on a thick directory on the table. He didn't even open it. In just an instant, he had already completed this task.
"Name." He picked up the pen with his right hand, and casually shook the letter in the air with his left hand. The other person didn't immediately answer his question. Instead, he immediately said, "Can you return the letter to me?"
"What?" The guide raised his head. He had casually destroyed the already verified recommendation letters.
"Keep it as a souvenir." The youth said quietly.
The guide glanced at him. He didn't say anything. With a shake of his left hand, the letter floated over.
"Thank you." The youth received it and nodded in thanks. Then, he answered the guide's previous question.
"My name is Lu Ping." He said. "Road as in road, flat as in fairness."
*****
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