By the end of February, it was the school opening day.
Due to living far away, Su Yuan, just as before, got out of bed early to head to the school.
On the first day of school, perhaps because most people arrived late, there were only a few scattered students in the classroom when Su Yuan arrived.
Su Yuan walked to his seat and sat down, taking out books such as "Great Flame Geography," "Blue Sea Star General Language," "Star Power Cultivation Basics," while in his mind, he reviewed and summarized a month of battles and gains in the Great Barbarian Mountain Area.
"It's a pity that there likely won't be another chance to max out Instant Movement and Gray Flame Strike in the Great Barbarian Mountain Area anytime soon."
On the one hand, college entrance exams were imminent, and it was necessary to focus more on improving his realm. Being at the Eighth Stage was not enough; he had to at least step into the Ninth Stage, or even officially advance to Bronze Level!
On the other hand, more preparation was needed for the literary courses. In general, the academic load this semester was still quite heavy. If nothing unexpected happened, it would be difficult to find time to improve skill levels in the Great Barbarian Mountain Area.
"You seem different than before… Hmm? Have you awakened?" Su Yuan was thinking when suddenly Jiang Jun's voice sounded next to him.
Su Yuan had been slaughtering for nearly a month in the Great Barbarian Mountain Area and had just come out. Even the scent of blood on his body hadn't entirely faded, and Jiang Jun, naturally perceptive, immediately noticed Su Yuan's change.
When Jiang Jun saw Su Yuan's silver pupils as he looked up, he was certain, but he didn't know what type of Soul Card it was.
Su Yuan turned to look at Jiang Jun, who had just sat down, with a stirring in his heart.
The fluctuation of Star Power on him was extremely strong, having already reached the Ninth Stage. It seemed he had just broken through, so he was not very good at concealing it yet.
"Yes, lucky me, I managed to awaken during the vacation," Su Yuan smiled and then changed the subject, "But you, you've actually advanced to the Ninth Stage already. We at Guangchuan Fourth Middle School don't have any Ninth Stage students yet, impressive! Advancing before the trial, making it into the top ten this time shouldn't be a problem for you!"
"No, I'm not the first one to break into the Ninth Stage." A hint of confusion passed through Jiang Jun's face, "Didn't you know? Right at the start of the winter holiday, Chen Jiujun had already advanced to the Ninth Stage. Moreover, he took advantage of the winter vacation to participate in a special recruitment by Wanzhou Academy and successfully passed."
"Oh?" Su Yuan was somewhat surprised, "Chen Jiujun was actually recruited by Wanzhou Academy through special recruitment?"
Cities in Great Flame Country are divided into three levels, and higher-level cities directly govern the surrounding lower-level cities.
Guangchuan City, for example, is the lowest Level Three city, while Qingye City, where Zhuang Xun is located, is a Level Two city.
As for the higher Level One cities, there are nineteen in total, collectively known as "Three Capitals, Four Extremes, and Twelve States."
Administratively speaking, Guangchuan City is subordinate to Qingye City, and Qingye City is subordinate to Shuzhou City, which is located in the southwest among the Twelve States.
As for Wanzhou City, where Chen Jiujun participated in special recruitment, it is another state city adjoining the east side of Shuzhou City.
The higher the city level, the more educational resources there are, so these nineteen cities' Star Power Academies are undoubtedly stronger than those in other cities!
Among them, Wanzhou Academy of Wanzhou City ranks twelfth in the latest academy rankings, two places higher than fourteenth-ranked Shuzhou College; it is definitely the academy that all the students in Guangchuan City dream of attending!
And Chen Jiujun, he had actually passed the special recruitment early?
Su Yuan spoke with admiration, "Truly worthy of being a talent who awakened a blue Soul Card."
After Su Yuan, Chen Jiujun was the second student at Guangchuan Fourth Middle School to reach Star Apprentice Sixth Stage. Not only was he well-known in the school, but he also had a considerable reputation among all students in Guangchuan City.
His father is a well-known Gold Level Star Card Master in Guangchuan City. It's said that although Chen Jiujun received a Skilled Level Awakening Card from the school, he did not use it. Instead, his father spent a considerable amount to prepare for him a Master Level Awakening Card.
And he did not disappoint; he even surpassed expectations by awakening a Master Grade Thunder Attribute Soul Card, instantly becoming the top talent in Guangchuan City!
As for the special recruitment of a first-class Star Power Academy…
Star Card Masters highly value talent, and there are differences even among talents.
To recruit some top talents, each capable academy will scout for talented students in various places in advance, bypassing the college entrance examination to recruit them early. This is what is known as special recruitment.
Based on the viewpoint of better students receiving better education, this type of academy's special recruitment is allowed by the Ministry of Education, though there are some restrictions, making the special recruitment requirements very high.
The lowest special recruitment threshold for the Nineteenth Academy: Star Apprentice Ninth Rank, a low-grade blue Soul Card, and Skills at Master Level.
Among these conditions, Su Yuan's Soul Card and Martial Skills both met the requirements.
Because he previously didn't have a Soul Card, Su Yuan had put more effort into academics and Martial Arts.
He had already mastered the basic sword skills, and during this trip to the Great Barbarian Mountain Area, his swordsmanship had evolved through real combat to reach the Great Success level.
As for the Soul Card, the top-grade blue Azure Sky Phoenix goes without saying.
It's just that Su Yuan was far behind in terms of realm, having wasted a year, and he had only just broken through to the Eighth Stage.
However, Su Yuan wouldn't envy special recruitment; relying on his own "talent," Su Yuan was confident he could gain admission to any academy and even secure additional resources.
Special recruitment or not, there wasn't much difference.
Jiang Jun asked skeptically, "You don't usually check your phone, do you? The whole class group exploded when he was admitted."
"I've been busy over the winter break and didn't look at my phone much. By the time I checked these past few days, there were already over 99 messages, and they had been pushed to the top..."
Su Yuan casually explained but then heard a commotion outside the classroom.
"Look, it's Chen Jiujun! The Chen Jiujun who was just admitted by Wanzhou Academy!"
"I can't believe our Guangchuan Fourth Middle School could produce a special recruit for Wanzhou Academy; that's awesome!"
"I'm so envious; that's Wanzhou Academy, I have no hope of getting into such an academy in my life..."
"Nonsense, the Star Apprentice class can't be repeated; if you fail once, there's no second chance. But if you start reincarnating now, it might be a bit earlier."
"Get lost!"
"..."
Amid exclamations and discussions, a handsome young man about 1.8 meters tall with a rather stern face strode into the classroom, the focus of the students inside and outside.
Chen Jiujun's gaze swept casually over his classmates, pausing for just half a second on Jiang Jun's face before he took his seat.
"I have to say, the gap is really huge..."
Thinking of the talents he had seen during the special recruitment selection and then looking at his classmates who hadn't even reached the Ninth Stage, he shook his head.
"There's really no comparison...Soon, just a few more months and I can leave Guangchuan, this country town, and compete with various geniuses at Wanzhou Academy!"
Having been accepted through special recruitment by Wanzhou Academy, Chen Jiujun was now bursting with pride, and Jiang Jun, who could have been considered a rival, was no longer regarded as one.
Having seen the geniuses outside, he realized how small and weak Guangchuan really was.
"No wonder my dad is so strict with me; he says my rivals are not in Guangchuan but out there... In all of Guangchuan, it's only Fang Kun from First High who can be considered my rival now."
These past few months have been a constant stream of good news for the Guangchuan Municipal Education Bureau!
A first-class academy hadn't recruited any special students for over ten years, but this year suddenly produced two!
Fang Kun from First High, who was specially recruited by Shuzhou College two months ago.
Chen Jiujun from Fourth High, who was recruited by Wanzhou Academy during the winter break.
Having two special recruitment students at once could possibly double the educational resources next year!