"The second and final trial is now concluded with 750 participants. Of these, 250 were disqualified for having no tokens. While we disdain weakness, we also disdain unreasonable bullying," announced the elder, snapping his fingers and shattering any stacked tokens. "A total of one hundred lost their tokens to bullies who decided to waste their time. Both groups will be reduced to a status equal to bronze."
"To ensure everyone remains worthy of their tokens, challenges will be allowed one year from now. Those with lower status will be able to challenge those with higher status. Losing or ignoring the challenge will result in a token trade. However, be aware that demise can be the result of your challenge, so think carefully before deciding whom to pick for a fight. Now, follow me to assess your potential, cultivation, and strength. You will then be separated into two groups based on your cultivation." Turning around, Reymond led the new students into the academy's main building.
"Hand over your identity cards, then enter when your name is called." Arriving at their destination, Reymond pushed the door open, revealing a spacious room with a massive cylinder at its center and two figures in similar attire standing beside it.
"It's about time you got off." Hearing the elder's words, Clifford jumped off his shoulder. Reverting to his human form, Clifford handed Reymond his identity card and then waited with the rest of the new students. Shortly, Reymond entered the room and closed the door behind him.
"Greetings, Elder Reymond." Bowing, both assistants greeted Reymond, who nodded slightly before allowing them to stand up.
"Rise." Beckoning the assistants to stand up, Reymond continued, "You should already be used to this by now, so let's get started right away."
"Yes, sir." Responding together, both of them placed their hands on the pillar. The different symbols that covered the pillar started glowing as the assistants fed it with their Qi. Shortly, Reymond raised his hands and then started bringing them together as he mobilized the laws he comprehended. His action caused the pillar's width to shrink as its height began to increase. Soon enough, the pillar became suitable for the newcomers to test their strength on.
"Thank you, you can leave now." Nodding, both assistants turned into smoke that flew out of the windows, leaving Reymond alone. Turning around, Reymond opened the door, announcing the start of the test.
Participants tested their strength by striking the pillar with all of their might, causing it to shake repeatedly. The number of times the pillar was shaken indicated the strength of the individual who struck it. After testing their strength, Reymond would check their potential and cultivation stages and merge their token with their identity card, causing it to take on the color of the token."
Then Reymond would engrave their strength on the modified identity card. Students in the first group would be in the third stage, while the rest would be in the second group.
"Amber Razac, strength: 7461, high, the first group"...
"Archdevil Predatoria, strength: 6371, high, the first group"...
"Iron Monarch, strength: 4613, average, the first group"...
"Stella Redclaw, strength: 7841, average, the second group"...
"Flame Apostle, strength: 5692, pinnacle, the first group"...
"Vlad Silverblade, strength: 8496, high, the second group"...
"Igen Dragonia, strength: 3467, pinnacle, the second group"...
"Magnus Ashfallen, strength: 1302, high, the first group"...
"Lucas Ashfallen, strength: 1450, average, the first group"...
Witnessing the strength test results, Reymond appreciated that some people intentionally hid their strength. It took him about three hours to finish everyone's assessment. The number of students in the first group was high compared to the second group. Once done with the assessment, Reymond explained to everyone what their status allowed them and what restrictions they had on them.
First, the diamond token had nearly no limitations. Second, the platinum token had restrictions placed on library access. Third, the golden token had restrictions on resources and buildings. Fourth, the silver token had restrictions on attendance. Finally, the bronze token, being at the bottom, had nearly no benefits.
Regardless of someone's status, they were required to progress well in their cultivation every year. If one failed to improve or progress, they would be discarded from the academy, freeing up their resources.
Being one of the first to be assessed, Clifford witnessed the majority of assessments and noted the names of those with relatively high strength. Contrary to his expectations, his own strength was not the highest, which excited him about battling any of them later. However, he believed that most of them intentionally held back to avoid drawing attention. For example, he suspected that Igen's real strength was much higher than what he had demonstrated, leading Clifford to guess that Igen had something to hide. Did Levithans just smell the same?
Every student with a silver identity card or higher had a private residence. Naturally, the residences matched the rank of the identity card, except for the diamond card, which had a residence equivalent to the platinum level. The rest of the students had no place to stay at the academy and were forced to find accommodation on their own.
One of the people Clifford was acquainted with was the Iron Monarch, the arrogant red-haired student he had beaten up and thrown off a cliff. While Clifford's initial plan was to sow hatred in his heart and harvest it later when ready, he found himself slowly changing his mind, always wondering if the dark force could be injected into others like Qi. Deciding to test this, Clifford chose the Iron Monarch as his first subject. But to do that, he needed a high reserve of dark force, which he couldn't currently obtain due to being inside the academy.
"Come with me." Hearing the voice calling him, Clifford pushed his thoughts aside and focused on the elder. Suddenly, he noticed that he was the only one left in the room with the elder, wondering how long he had been lost in thought.