The three young people who had come with the beautiful lady were Everett, Bernard and Valentina. They soon formed a circle a couple of distance away from the two ladies and started talking amongst themselves.
"It was hard to convince her to come. She hates coming to trivial things like this. Although it might be important for us, aunt Claudette says, in the end, what's important is how you fare in the long run.
Getting a head start might help, but there are plenty of opportunities in the outside world to grasp when the academy arranges for missions. They are more than enough to narrow down the advantage of a head start with that other person.
So I think we should not put ourselves under pressure."
The black haired teen, Bernard said, as soon as they gathered.
The red haired teen, Everett, nodded at his words and said,
"My mom has always been pretty chill in terms of achievements. She always says, it's what you do consistently that matters in the long run. Sure, you can achieve only if you put in effort every day, but one might get an opportunity early and win the tournament.
The other person might get an opportunity later in life, easily bringing him to the same level as one with achievements. One's talent might burst out later than others, like a bamboo, resulting in his cultivation speed rocketing.
People can slack off after having achieved results they wanted, causing them to lag behind. So it's always what matters in the long run."
All of them felt their stiff shoulders loosen a bit after listening to it. Clarence asked,
"Do any of you here have any idea about what the entrance ceremony will consist of?"
Valentina replied,
"I only know there will be different tournaments for battle and sub-domains of expertise, even in that, different tournaments for different professions.
I know this information because my dad is on the executive committee of the academy. It's good I don't have to face you monsters."
Clarence just replied with a chuckle about that and the other two smirked. It was apparent that although they were nervous about the new academy, they were also confident in their own strength.
While they were talking, Clarence looked around to see there were a lot of people gathered around the academy now. Aside from the camps, there were also people standing alone.
It was apparent that they were lone cultivators. Cultivators like these weren't of any powers of the race. They weren't affiliated with any power. Some of them offer their services in exchange for money, some work in missions to earn, some kill and loot to earn.
There were quite a lot of lone cultivators gathered around, they usually embark on the path to cultivation after randomly awakening one day or through a chance opportunity. So, for further knowledge, they either have to roam and learn gradually from various sources or work for such information.
But the allied academy was an academy affiliated with no force. It was a truly neutral academy. While it was still unsure what they'd be fighting against, lone cultivators usually felt no such thing as an obligation to fight for their land.
As for forcing them to fight? Some were confident in their own strength, while some had chosen to worry about it later when the time came.
Some lone cultivators came alone, while some came along with their partners and seniors. It's common that lone cultivators will feel like leaving behind a legacy too, so they usually choose a seedling with good talent and nurture them to continue their legacy.
After waiting a bit more, there was a loud rumbling sound from the frontmost building of the academy and the huge gates opened to reveal a person standing behind them.
After the races saw who was standing behind the gates, all of them were surprised. No one here had expected him to be present.
The person mentioned was a middle aged man with long black hair which reached his waist. He had clear tanned skin and similarly black eyes. He rose in the air to stand in the middle of all the races and said,
"It's nice to have all of you present here. I am Abelardo, you all might already have heard of me."
Saying so, he chuckled and continued,
"I will be the principal of this academy as long as it stands."
Claudette looked at Sienna, but she had no expression on her face nor did she say anything to Claudette.
A little distance away, the same thing happened instantly as the three of them all looked towards Clarence as the man introduced himself, but like mom, like son, he had no expression on his face nor did he react to his friends looking at him.
As if a bomb had been dropped, all the people present, without exception, were surprised. It was obvious that information related to the academy had been strictly kept under tight control with only basic stuff such as the entrance ceremony leaking to a few.
Abelardo was a lone cultivator from the dragon race and was known to be the strongest lone cultivator in the current era as his prowess was enough to rank him as a legend among rank nine.
He had never even supported his own race growing up and his journey to greatness was filled with miracles in itself. If he alone wasn't enough, he had also contracted a dragon as his spirit beast.
He was well versed in the domain of alchemy, so he also almost never had a problem with resources growing up. Lone cultivators who were well versed with any of the five sub-domains of expertise were always wealthy among their kind.
Abelardo could basically be said to have been the main character of his era if it were not for Lysander Verity.
*****
At the Verity mansion, Lysander, who was leaning back on his sofa with his eyes closed, muttered without opening his eyes,
"Oh? He is the principal? It's going to be a lot more fun than I expected it to be. I hope Clarence doesn't falter in the face of difficulties."