Chapter 18: Entering the Study Palace

Day Five.

"Where is it being sent?" A young attendant sitting at the hall's door on a street not far from the side hall of the academy saw the letter in Lin Yuan's hand and immediately asked.

Behind him were wooden cabinets placed both horizontally and vertically. Each drawer had a village name written on it, neatly arranged in several rows.

There were about twenty to thirty registration attendants lined up. Each had a wooden desk and a ledger. In front of each attendant, many people were lined up, all sending letters to their villages with good news.

"To Bull Horn Village."

"Alright! That'll be twenty copper coins."

Lin Yuan handed over the silver coin and watched as the young attendant took the letter, and after recording it in the ledger, he let out a sigh of relief.

As he stepped away, Lin Yuan thought silently in his heart, "After I achieve something in the future, I'll visit the village again."

Sending the letter at last resolved a concern in his mind.

"Look, look!" At this moment, there was a shout from the crowd behind him: "Isn't that an Inner Sect senior brother? I guess the results are out today, and they're starting to assign disciples to their respective places."

Lin Yuan's thoughts were interrupted by the shout, and he turned to look back.

A group of men and women, walking with a sense of pride, were heading towards the side hall, around twenty or thirty of them. What left the deepest impression was undoubtedly their confident faces.

Especially the four at the front, their cyan cloud-patterned collars were distinctly different from those behind them.

The gaze of those four was as sharp as a sword, and they walked on confidently, without any expression, paying no heed to the exclamations of the crowd.

"Greetings, senior brothers and sisters!"

And everyone around made way unconsciously, bowing their heads in greeting as this group passed by them.

Lin Yuan was no exception, following the crowd to make way, and stood by the roadside, bowing his head, watching them pass in front of him.

"Such powerful Qi-Blood!" As they passed in front of Lin Yuan, he carefully sensed it, a trace of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

"When can I cultivate to such an extent?" The pressure that faced him made his muscles tense.

As they passed by Lin Yuan, the leading woman glanced at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan suddenly felt as if a heavy pressure had fallen on him.

Fortunately, nothing happened, and only after they walked far away did Lin Yuan breathe a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the crowd was buzzing.

"Did you see? The inner sect disciples have cyan cloud patterns on their collars, and those in the black robes with blue and white hues behind them are elite disciples. Truly imposing!"

"That aura, that cultivation, especially the few inner sect senior brothers and sisters at the front, are simply unfathomable."

These shortlisted disciples marveled one after another.

"Does the academy have inner disciples and elite disciples?" someone asked.

"Of course, there must be a hierarchy of some sort. Inner sect disciples are masters who have completed Condensing Yuan, while elite disciples are the best among the disciples doing chores!"

"Ha, if your father or relative is a deacon in the academy, you can become an elite disciple directly after selection." One person added.

"So what's the difference between elite disciples and inner sect disciples?"

"I'm not too sure about inner sect disciples, but I know a bit about elite disciples." The person just now displayed a confident smile: "Elite disciples receive 30 silver each month and ten portions of Qi-Blood powder. The benefits for inner sect disciples are far superior to those of elite disciples."

"We know about silver, but what is Qi-Blood powder?" someone asked curiously.

"Ignorant!" That person scoffed, causing the questioning young man's face to flush, "Qi-Blood powder can enhance one's Qi-Blood. The effect of martial training is far better than eating meat. If you could take Qi-Blood powder every day, the speed of progress in martial arts would increase several times over."

"Qi-Blood powder! I wonder how effective it is!"

Lin Yuan's heart stirred.

"Now, when I cultivate, I'm missing Qi-Blood accumulation for most of the time. After using up the pills, accumulating Qi-Blood with the village's meat is very difficult. The meat in the academy barely allows me to train for an hour."

"The speed of accumulating Qi-Blood is unbearably slow. Without taking pills, it'll probably take three years to accumulate Qi-Blood from the first transformation state to the Red Spirit State."

Lin Yuan silently estimated in his heart.

After consuming meat, he could feel the warm conversion of Qi-Blood in his belly. Once digestion was complete, the accumulation of Qi-Blood became extremely slow, and on the first day of competition, there was even a regression.

"The Qi-Blood of that inner sect senior sister is far beyond mine. But I won't belittle myself. After entering the academy for training, with the support of the Nine Chapters, one day I will surely reach that height." Lin Yuan steadied himself, dispelling the pressure that had just weighed on him.

"Enter the academy, and first secure the Qi-Blood powder."

Lin Yuan made up his mind.

He then stopped paying attention to the speaking crowd behind him and stepped back to his residence.

********

In the courtyard, Dong Qing and Bai Zhi were also present.

Lin Yuan saw Bai Zhi packing her luggage, with traces of blood still on her clothes, presumably from injuries sustained in the competition.

Dong Qing stood by her side, saying nothing, but looking at Lin Yuan and Bai Zhi with a bit more indifference in her expression.

Success or failure in the selection leads to drastically different life paths in the future.

She had already succeeded in the selection, with a bright new path laid before her. Meanwhile, Bai Zhi and Lin Yuan are likely to spend a modest life in a remote village.

Ultimately, not traveling the same road.

Seeing Lin Yuan return, Tong Qing pursed her lips but did not speak.

"Are you going back? Let's go together, it's just on the way." A hint of desolation flashed across Bai Zhi's face, her gaze filled with a touch of sadness.

She had now completely failed and had no further opportunity to enter the academy. Seeing Lin Yuan calm, without the excitement of having entered the academy, she assumed Lin Yuan, like her, had also failed in the selection.

The two were relatively familiar, walking together to the station could provide mutual comfort.