Although Lu Ping and the other three had encountered many problems along the way, such as being invited by Ba Liyan, the Principal of Gorge Peak, and the Governor's Mansion, it did not take up too much of their time. It was just that they did not manage to take the carriage that they had originally hired, and had to walk all the way back to Zhenfeng College.
Lu Ping walked as if he was flying, and Su Tang pushed Siffin. In the end, only Morin was left at the back, sighing and complaining all the way. He was a little tired, but at least he did not fall behind.
Zhenfeng College was located at the foot of Gorge Peak Mountain, and the entire Gorge City was built along the mountain. Halfway through, they abandoned the carriage and walked on foot, almost crossing half of Gorge City. It took about four hours of walking. By the time they returned to the college, the entire college was already bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Zhenfeng College had only been established for about twenty years, and it did not have much of a background. Principal Guo Youdao did not seem to have much wealth, and the only thing that could be said was that he came from the Black Tortoise Institute.
Perhaps it was because of this background that Guo Youdao managed to scrounge up a sum of money from who knows where, and finally created this Zhai Feng Academy. At the start, his slogan of wanting to surpass the top four academies had indeed bewitched many people. The Gorge District was after all a remote area, and the people's knowledge was inevitably lagging behind. They did not have much understanding and concept of the four big colleges, and when Guo Youdao said that, many people really believed him.
Now that more than twenty years had passed, Guo Youdao did not even bring up the matter of surpassing the four big colleges, and the knowledge of the people in the Gorge District had also improved rapidly over the past twenty years, and when he mentioned it, they all treated it as a joke. In the Gorge District, the people still recognized Gorge Peak College. Since they had children, they would try to send them to the college when they were of the right age. If they passed the test and were found to have the potential to cultivate, the future of the family would be guaranteed. Even if the students from the college were of an average stage, as long as they had the courage of a stage two or three stage Heavenly Energy, they would have many advantages over ordinary people. A stage two Heavenly Energy could plough the ground faster than an ox!
However, this kind of comparison was not something the academy wanted to see. Therefore, although the simple and honest residents of the Canyon Peak Academy were full of praises for it, the Canyon Peak Academy itself hadn't been living in peace for the past few years. That was because Zhenfeng College had been established for more than 20 years. It was a small college that was not even a quarter of their size. In recent years, there were always outstanding students who surpassed them. This kind of talented and outstanding students was what the college truly looked forward to.
There were obviously more students and better resources for mentors, but they just couldn't cultivate top-notch seedlings. What did this mean?
Ba Liyan could only rejoice that Gorge Peak Academy and Zhaifeng Academy were located in a remote mountainous area with a sparse population. There were only two academies in the region. In the adjacent Zhi Ling district, there were eighteen schools of various sizes, such as Amaterasu, Bipolar, Ningyuan, Qingqu, and so on. The competition was fierce. That was why the spiritualist quadrant had set up the Spirit Rankings to list the rankings of the students of each school in the exam. The Soul Point Roll only took the top fifty. There were eighteen academies with tens of thousands of students, but only fifty people could make it onto the roll. The intensity of the competition could be imagined, but the strength of the academies reflected from this was also basically reliable. Thus, it was commonly used by the various large districts.
This was also why Gorge Peak Academy was anxious. Fortunately, the Gorge Peak Academy didn't have such an obvious competition between academies. The two academies only had a general idea of each other's strength in the exam. So what if the Gorge Peak Academy had many students if they were to participate in such an environment? Not a single one of the top fifty would disappear. So what if Zhenfeng College was less than a fifth of its size? If one or two students managed to squeeze into the top fifty, they would immediately receive more attention than the Gorge Peak Academy.
In recent years, the Gorge Peak Academy had been planning to participate in the Soul Point Roll in the spiritualist quadrant in order to expand their influence. However, the students who didn't live up to expectations would only be asking for humiliation if they participated. This was why Ba Liyan's eyes had lit up when he saw Lu Ping and he'd been so eager to enroll this student.
The Gorge Peak Academy hadn't been able to take this step yet, but Zhenfeng College had Lu Ping, Su Tang, Siffin, and that student who'd popped out of nowhere. If they were allowed to take this step first …
Ba Liyan grew even more anxious now that the exam was over.
The destruction of the Towers of Spirits for the first and third years meant that the students of these two years hadn't had any results up until now. The Gorge Peak Academy had suppressed Zhenfeng College's limelight in the second and fourth years, but what use was that? Limelight? Neither side was in the limelight at all. Students who'd made it to the twelfth level were already very proud of themselves, but if they wanted to fight their way into the top fifty of the Soul Point Roll, they had to be able to climb to the top of the Tower of Spirits. Only then would they have the qualifications to compete for the Soul Point Roll.
The only student that Ba Liyan had seen with great hope was Lu Ping. He'd rushed over to repair their relationship, but it was as if he'd run into an iceberg in the end.
The other didn't seem to hold much resentment towards him, but he didn't give him any chance to get close either. He was only a sixteen year old child, but Ba Liyan didn't know where to start.
He'd then noticed the secret agents from the city lord's manor.
It looked like the attention this good card had attracted wasn't just limited to the academies. What would the city lord's manor do? Had they noticed Lu Ping because of the strength he'd displayed, or because he'd pushed down Wei Tianqi …
Ba Liyan was still thinking on the way back to the Gorge Peak Academy. He really couldn't accept this.
Lu Ping. This name had been etched into many people's minds over the course of that day.
The day of the exams had passed, and it was dawn again.
Lu Ping woke up in the morning light. Nothing had changed for him. There had never been a need for him to study in the academy. He'd been working hard for the past three years to find a way to break out of this captivating shackle.
Clink clink clink …
He'd heard this sound twice yesterday. This ear-piercing sound of friction was incomparably familiar to him. He'd heard this sound every time he'd been taken to do experiments in the organization. Along with the sound was endless pain. Everyone around him would only observe and record it expressionlessly.
Pain. Stop the pain.
It was as if they were operating a switch. Day after day, year after year, they'd been operating on his body. He endured the pain, numbly and calmly. He didn't know what other choice he had. Ever since he could remember, this was the life he'd lived.
But where was he before this? What kind of life was he living? Lu Ping had no idea. He didn't even know his own age, nor did he have a name. Until the day he'd escaped, he'd seen the words "Continent, April 24, 1847, 33 years old" on a piece of paper. He wasn't even sure if it belonged to him, but he'd treated it as a mark of his life. Hence, he had an age.
Then, he'd carried Su Tang on his back and trudged through the endless sea of snow. He'd hoped that there was a path that wouldn't be so difficult and painful. He'd hoped that he'd be able to walk on peacefully.
Lu Ping.
This was the first time he'd had such a realistic expectation.
He'd taken this as his name.
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