Day 304
The tournament ended today.
I'm a bit disappointed because I don't get first place, but finishing second is still pretty good.
From what I saw, the guy who finished first, Xuan Yao, is stronger than me even though he's also at the advanced stage.
It's a shame I didn't get to fight him.
In the semi-finals, I faced a rather powerful girl. She was only at the confirmed stage, but her sword technique was sublime and much better than mine.
Honestly, I only won thanks to my superior cultivation. Even so, I was severely injured in the chest and had to forfeit the final.
Luckily for her, her opponent was in a coma and couldn't participate, so she won third place even though she couldn't fight.
All three of us received a formation pill and a nice bundle of spirit stones. Regardless of the rewards for the other places, we now have a huge lead; one they will probably never catch up to.
In the future, Xuan Yao and Xuan Meixin will be my main rivals, and this fight clearly made me understand that having high cultivation won't be enough to defeat them.
There's no point in having immense power if I don't know how to use it. I will have to focus on my sword techniques.
…
When James regained consciousness, he was back in the church, holding the crystal ball that was glowing with a magnificent blue light.
"Accreditation level A1, congratulations young Constantine."
James returned to his seat like a zombie, still in a trance from everything that had just happened.
As he tried to sort through his thoughts, he felt something hit his ribs.
Annoyed, he turned around and found himself face-to-face with a smiling young Valyr.
"What, what do you want, Alice?" he grumbled.
"Well, with everything you've been saying, I was sure the ball would glow red and you'd end up with a C1 accreditation," she said, laughing. "But who would have thought you're actually a devout believer in God? You're good at hiding it."
"Humpf."
James sniffed and rolled his eyes.
"Don't talk nonsense, someone must have modified the crystal ball so I'd get a good accreditation."
"Pfff," Alice sneered.
"What!"
"Hahaha, seriously, James, everyone knows no one can cheat on this test, not magus nor Golden Core cultivators. Not even the Supreme Pontiff Nagaïa, so stop with your nonsense. Only God could change the result, but what would he gain from it, huh?" Alice laughed so hard she felt cramps in her abs as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Humpf, think what you want, I don't care," James muttered.
At that moment, a tall, muscular Naga appeared behind them and placed his hands on their shoulders, making them jump by surprise.
"You two, shut up or I'll throw you out."
Alice bowed her head as she was scolded, but James had already tuned out, internally reflecting on what she had said.
"Only God could do that, huh…"
Unconsciously, a slight thread of faith had formed between James and the God of the Four Elements. It was still very fragile and could break at the slightest incident, but it was indeed there.
James had become a pan believer!
…
Eight enormous metal arms slowly folded in, and the eight hatches closed.
Forty meters above, nearly four hundred students stood on the deck of an enormous magical ship, watching the city grow smaller as the metal monster ascended into the sky.
This was the last stop for the ship, and after picking up students from the three major cities, it was returning to the capital.
"It's really impressive! For a simple low-tier plane to have such magical technology, it's clear that his Excellency the God of the Four Elements is involved."
James nodded unconsciously.
This magical ship was easily 200 meters long and entirely made of rank 2 and 3 metals covered with various defensive formations. It had a cylindrical shape and was powered by six magical thrusters.
Five were located under the airship, allowing it to fly, while the sixth, which was also the largest, was at the back and propelled it forward.
At the top of the ship, several metallic protrusions emerged from the hull. One of them was the deck where they currently stood, but he had no idea about the function of the others.
[PICTURE HERE]
"Hey old man, why do you think that guy is involved?" James asked, intrigued.
"Be more respectful when you talk about his Excellency, kid," the artifact spirit of the pagoda scolded. "He's an extremely powerful being, far more than I ever was," he said, sighing.
"As for your question, the answer is obvious. It's not just about this ship; even the number of rank 4 beings is abnormal. And look at the White Lotus City. If we don't consider its scale, it would be worthy of being the capital of a low-tier plane, and you're telling me it's just a large city here? Trust me, this is not normal."
Once again, James could only nod.
The streets were wide and clean, with lampposts lighting the night. Rank 2 beings were visible everywhere, and as for rank 3 ones, they were not rare either.
The buildings were clean, straight, and spacious, and even the roads had been reinforced with various magical formations.
Compared to White Lotus city, the capital of the kingdom from his previous life seemed like a third-rate city, completely backward.
KREEEE
Suddenly, the deafening cry of an eagle echoed on the deck, catching everyone's attention.
James rushed to the nearest window and looked up, seeing only a gigantic shadow.
"Damn, that's an advanced rank 3 royal eagle."
James began to panic. Even though he was a great Warrior, he was only at the confirmed stage. He would never stand a chance against a flying beast stronger than him.
"Don't worry, kid, these magical ships aren't children's toys. At worst, there are two rank 4 beings on board; they'll take care of it."
BOOM
He felt the ground tremble slightly under his tail and lost sight of the eagle for a moment.
"Magical cannon!" said the old man, his voice slightly trembling.
Looking up, James only saw the deformed corpse of the bird falling and crashing into the forest.
"W-What was that?!" James stammered internally.
He was even more shocked by the old man's dismay than by the eagle's death.
"Damn, the old guy reached an unimaginable level of power in the past, how can he be shocked by so little things?"
The old man sighed, recalling painful memories.
"That's the reason for the supremacy of the mages. Back when I was still a simple disciple of a great sect, our crystal wall went to war with another crystal wall led by mages or similar beings. We all thought it would be an easy victory because we were far more numerous and had more powerful powerhouses, but it ends up being quite the opposite." He said in a lugubrious tone.
"From the beginning, the mages brought out ships, cannons, and all sorts of strange magical tools. We were massacred effortlessly and lost many worlds. It was only when we all united our forces that we managed to push them back and regain control of our crystal wall."
James remained silent for a while, not knowing what to say. This was far beyond anything he could comprehend.
"Don't worry, kid, all that's in the past," the old man chuckled before resuming a serious tone. "However, I want you to remember one thing, and this will be the first lesson I'll give you. Know that focusing solely on your cultivation will lead to your downfall. You must diversify your knowledge and techniques as much as possible, or you'll end up like the cultivators of the past."
James solemnly nodded just as a middle-aged Novarian entered the deck and clapped his hands, releasing the heavy aura of a magus and capturing everyone's attention.
"Please, don't panic. This ship is equipped with cutting-edge technology and will have no problem dealing with the beasts. The capital is 250km away, and we'll arrive within an hour. Until then, we'll ask you to stay on the deck and not break anything."
With that, he turned and left the deck, leaving it in heavy silence.
…
Two hours later, James wandered the streets of the capital with sparkling eyes.
When he disembarked, the Novarian magus, who turned out to be one of the professors at New Dawn Academy, had sent them into the city and instructed them to go to the Tower of Wisdom to collect a cultivation technique before giving them rendez-vous at the central square at 4 PM.
So, he went to the Tower of Wisdom and, with the old man's help, quickly chose from the thousands of available techniques and left with a free copy under his arm.
Compared to the original, the branch of the Tower of Wisdom in White Lotus City seemed ridiculous.
The Tower of Wisdom in the capital was literally a gigantic tower over two hundred meters tall and fifty floors high. Each floor dealt with a specific domain, and only one's accreditation level limited their access to knowledge.
Except for the first floor, which contained practice techniques requiring only level 1 accreditation, each floor was divided into five subsections corresponding to levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Within a section, A level accreditation was the highest, followed by B level, which had limited access, and C level, which had access to almost nothing.
Thus, when he wanted to visit the spear arts, James could only access level 1, but this time, he had to pay.
As the son of the Lord of White Lotus City, he wasn't short on money, but he decided not to buy anything and wait for his admission to the academy. At worst, the old man could teach him some things.
So, he wandered the city and, after more than an hour of strolling, he could only acknowledge that the capital was even more majestic than his hometown.
The buildings all had at least five or six floors, and the nicely paved streets were wide enough to allow three or four convoys to pass side by side.
They were lined with various buildings like restaurants, blacksmiths, alchemy shops or butchers.
Additionally, each building was very large and had its own communal garden, allowing children to play together and the elderly to grow some spiritual plants.
The city also had no shortage of large mansions and wide family estates. Thus, even though Portalis had nearly 100 000 inhabitants, it covered an enormous area and didn't give the impression of people being crammed together.
The only strange point was that no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find the academy. When he asked the locals, they just smiled and told him to go to the meeting point.
Seeing the meeting time approach, Liam decided to finally give up his search and returned leisurely to the central square of the city.
Along the way, he happened to run into Alice and some of her friends who joined the group.
…
The central square of the capital was truly gigantic and could easily accommodate tens of thousands of people, not to mention the six hundred students waiting patiently.
At the very center of the square, there was a massive altar about twenty meters high, serving as a circular pedestal about sixty meters wide for a gigantic white stone statue nearly two hundred meters tall, surpassing the Tower of Wisdom and standing as the tallest structure in the city.
The being on the statue had the lower body of a serpent, like the red-moon Nagas, but had an upper body like a humanoid.
It was bare-chested, revealing a beautifully muscled and defined silhouette with a few scales on its torso.
One of its hands held a long spear adorned with beautiful golden patterns and runes, while the other was raised to the sky, swirling four elemental spheres—one of fire, one of blue-tinged air, one of earth, and one of water.
It had long, wavy hair and sharp facial features as it gazed toward the horizon.
"That's him, the God of the Four Elements," Liam thought as he admired the magnificent statue.
The mere aura emitted by a simple statue made him feel minuscule before the grandeur of the gods.
"It's normal for you to feel like that, kid. He left a trace of divinity in this statue. If anything threatens the city, the statue will awaken and join the fight. Trust me, you won't want to be around when that happens!" the old man said.
James nodded internally but continued to admire the statue. For the first time in his life, he thought it might not be so bad to be part of a greater and nobler cause.
At that moment, a gigantic black serpent with crimson red patterns appeared in the sky, and everyone felt an incredible pressure descend upon them.
As if gravity had increased hundredfold, James was forced to lean on his spear to avoid collapsing.
Then came the fear. A terrifying fear gnawed at his heart, making him feel helpless and like nothing more than prey before a supreme predator.
"Fuck you!" he cried out unconsciously. "If you want me to bow, you'll have to do better than that, you bastard!" he shouted at the sky, staring the serpent straight in its glowing red eyes.
It might have been his imagination, but he sensed a flicker of appreciation pass through the beast's enormous eyes.
Nevertheless, it disappeared as quickly as it came, and the feeling of being watched by a superior being who could kill him at any moment vanished with it, allowing him to catch his breath.
The gigantic serpent landed on the square not far from them, and a middle-aged Valyr appeared on its head.
"It was the final entrance test. Those who fled or fainted will be rejected. As for the other, welcome to New Dawn Academy. Take your place on Professor Lysalis's back; he will take us to the campus."
James was speechless for a moment, then turned to his right and breathed a sigh of relief.
"At least, she was admitted too," he thought.
Alice was still there, although she was sprawled on the ground, sweating profusely and panting. In fact, that was the state of most of the students, and only a few managed to remain standing.
James took a deep breath and resigned himself to accept a pinnacle spiritual beast as a professor, then he slung his spear over his back and picked up Alice, carrying her princess-style to the professor.
Under the gaze of his future classmates and professors, he jumped a dozen meters and landed on the gigantic body of the professor while the young Valyr squirmed in his arms, red as a tomato.
…
It took nearly a quarter of an hour for the last students to stand up and climb onto Professor Lysalis's gigantic body.
With more than four hundred people on his back, the nearly hundred-meter-long serpent finally rose and took flight.
Even though he had no wings, he could use his incredibly vast spiritual energy to push against the air and soar.
However, contrary to what James thought, the serpent did not head towards the outskirts of the city but ascended vertically.
Intrigued, James looked up at the sky and observed the two gigantic floating rocks.
"They didn't really do that, did they?"
…
Professor Lysalis was rather considerate and ascended slowly, allowing the weakest students to adjust to the decrease in pressure and the lack of oxygen.
Gradually, he climbed over three thousand meters in altitude and passed through the clouds, then reached the first floating island, leaving all the students in awe.
The island was nearly a kilometer wide and covered with beautiful greenery and tall trees.
At the very center of the island, there was a high hill topped with a gigantic tower of pure white, its peak shining with a radiant magical glow.
James was almost certain this tower was even larger than the Tower of Wisdom in the capital.
All over the island, there were numerous buildings made of the same white stone.
At the front of the island and right in front of them, there was a gigantic lake of pure, shimmering water.
[PICTURE HERE]
As the students "disembarked," the gigantic serpent transformed into an impressive serpent-man nearly two meters tall.
"So that's the humanoid transformation only spiritual beasts can achieve," James thought.
"Welcome to New Dawn Academy," said the middle-aged Valyr accompanying them. "Let me officially introduce myself. My name is Ilbert Luminara, and I am the headmaster of this academy. Along with the entire faculty, we will be guiding you through your five years of study on this floating island."
"Be careful, kid, I hadn't noticed before, but this guy has surpassed the world's power limit and reached rank 5. Moreover, he's far from weak. He's probably an advanced grand mage, maybe even pinnacle."
"What?" James exclaimed internally. "How is that possible? You told me the world's will imposed a limit on the inhabitants' power."
He couldn't believe his eyes.
"It's true, but it's not absolute. There are several ways to surpass that limit. He most likely signed a contract with the world's will."
James gulped unconsciously. This level of power was far beyond anything he had ever known.
"Know that aside from school holidays or special missions, you will not be allowed to leave this floating island," Headmaster Luminara continued, unaware of their internal dialogue. "Additionally, money is useless here. Everything will function through academy points, which you can earn during exams or by completing missions for the academy. As for the great tower at the summit behind me, it is called the Tower of Crossing. It holds even more information than the Tower of Wisdom and works in tandem with it, so your Tower of Wisdom accreditation will be valid here as well."
The headmaster paused briefly and surveyed them with a piercing gaze.
"Due to the rarity and quantity of information in this tower, many scholars and researchers come here, so when you encounter one of our guests, I expect you to be polite and answer their questions, even if it makes you late for class."
Everyone gulped, knowing he wasn't joking.
"Alright, there will be no classes today. Some of your seniors will give you a tour of the campus, help you find your quarters, and complete all the administrative formalities."
After his short speak, he quickly turned around and disappeared in a flash of light before they could react.