Michelle reached out her hand, extending her star energy to retrieve a chip from the rain, smiling.
Gray White Night frowned, a cold glint in his eyes.
Deep within the rain, an aged pair of eyes scanned Michelle and Sharo, showing a hint of appreciation. "Star energy is the foundation of all cultivation. The same combat skill, with different star energy, results in vastly different power. Ordinary people focus on quantity, while the strong focus on quality. To materialize star energy within three days is rare, even with prior training. This is genius-level talent. The next step, the realm of myriad changes, those who reach it can be called prodigies."
Another day passed. Gray White Night suddenly opened his eyes, reaching into the rain with a domineering gesture to tear through it, extracting a chip with a proud look.
Almost at the same time, Lulu also retrieved a chip, glaring provocatively at Gray White Night.
Gray White Night raised an eyebrow, a hint of displeasure in his eyes. Why should an ant from outer space dare to look at him?
Lulu, disliking the White Night Clan, raised her fist at Gray White Night.
Gray White Night squinted his eyes. "Woman, are you looking to die?"
Lulu sneered. "The mere White Night Clan."
Gray White Night's eyes widened. "Who are you?"
"Lulu Mebius," Lulu said proudly.
Gray White Night was surprised and fell silent. He knew the terror of the Mebius Clan.
Michelle and the others had received four gifts but didn't hurry to leave. They continued to stand in the rain, watching the scenery. This place was magical and could cleanse the soul.
Lu Yin continued to refine his star energy through the Celestial Star Art, while watching the rain. He tried to mimic the raindrops to liquefy his star energy, but failed. He also tried to vaporize it, but that failed too. Whether liquid or vapor, it had already transcended ordinary power. Power is formless; turning it into form is transcendence.
Wait, Lu Yin suddenly remembered something. He cultivated the Celestial Star Art, which mimics the operation of stars. Where do stars come from? They are formed from star energy, which is substance. Lu Yin was annoyed with himself. How could he not think of stars? He had been cultivating substantial star energy from the beginning.
Lu Yin opened his eyes and reached forward. In his palm, a star tore through the rain. He saw the fifth chip and was about to grab it when a fierce energy suddenly attacked, forming into swords. One, two, three, three swords formed a triangle and stabbed at him.
The star in Lu Yin's palm exploded, clashing with the three swords. It happened so suddenly that he had only simulated one star, unable to withstand the pressure from the three swords. He quickly withdrew his hand, and the last chip was taken by a man from Myriad Sword Mountain, Zhao Yilong.
Lu Yin looked at Zhao Yilong, but Zhao Yilong didn't care about him, examining the chip instead.
"Friend, it's not very honorable to attack suddenly," Lu Yin said coldly.
Zhao Yilong glanced at him. "You can try to take it."
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed, about to make a move, when a shadow passed over everyone, landing on the high ground at the northernmost part of the bluestone platform.
Everyone looked over.
It was a man, his back to them, with overwhelming star energy materializing suddenly, sweeping across and surprising everyone. This was—Extreme Realm.
The scene fell silent.
The man stood gracefully, his slightly long hair fluttering in the rain, giving off an air of a master.
The man slowly turned around, saying as he did, "Congratulations to all the new students." As he spoke, he blinked and stared blankly at them. "Excuse me, where are the students who passed the assessment?"
Keke, being a good child, immediately answered, "That's us."
The man was stunned, forcing a smile. "Little sister, don't joke. How many of you are there? Our academy enrolls at least a thousand people."
Zora raised her head. "It's us. Are you a senior here?"
The man's face twitched, suddenly shouting, "Rain Watching Mentor, is there a mistake? Why are there so few people? Where are the cute juniors? The adorable junior sisters? Where did they go?"
"Shut up. This time, only twelve people passed the assessment. That's it," came a shout from the rain.
The man's face turned bitter. "How can this be? Has the Tenth Academy fallen to such a degree? Only twelve people passed the assessment? How sad."
Michelle frowned. "Senior, please get to the point."
The man sighed, looking defeated. His gaze swept over everyone, stopping on Michelle's face and then not moving away, his eyes shining. He instantly appeared in front of her, bowing elegantly. "My name is Cannon. May I know your name, junior sister?"
Michelle was displeased. "Senior, please get to the point."
The raindrops suddenly grew larger, and the whole sky turned oppressive. "Cannon, if you disgrace yourself again, you'll be punished with a year in the Wanchuan Sand Sea."
The man was startled, quickly retreating to the high ground, coughing a few times, and his face turned solemn. "Hello, juniors. My name is Cannon, a student of the Tenth Academy and your senior. Now, let me introduce you to the Tenth Academy," he said, winking at Michelle. He continued, "As everyone knows, the Starry Sky War Academy is the top academy in the universe. Our Tenth Academy has a long history and cultural tradition, a treasure of universal civilization, a holy land that countless strong elites dream of..."
"Senior, please stop the nonsense," Gray White Night said coldly.
Cannon was displeased. "Junior, don't interrupt when your senior is speaking. Be polite."
Gray White Night sneered.
"Senior, please get to the point," Michelle said for the third time, sounding impatient.
Cannon coughed again, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Alright, our Tenth Academy doesn't have specific mentors for teaching. It's all self-study. We have three famous cultivation sanctuaries in the universe: Rain Watching Platform, Star Picking Tower, and Wanchuan Sand Sea. Rain Watching Platform is right here, with rain pouring all year round, never stopping for countless years, which is beneficial for cultivating star energy. As for the other two places, you'll know when you get there..."
After introducing for a while, Cannon suddenly remembered something. "Friendly reminder, it's best to leave Rain Watching Platform through the teleportation device. Otherwise, I can't guarantee how long it will take you to reach the other two places."
"Senior, is the academy big?" Keke asked cutely, looking curious.
Cannon looked at Keke's naive and cute appearance, his heart melting, and smiled brightly. "Yes, it's very big. The platform you're on now is only a corner of Rain Watching Platform, which is composed of tens of thousands of towering trees."
"Tens of thousands? That doesn't seem like much," Keke wondered.
Cannon laughed strangely. "Not much? What if I told you that the platform you're on is only the top of one tree, and the countless green trees you see in the distance are actually branches of that tree. What would you think?"
Everyone was shocked. Keke covered her mouth, looking at the distant green trees in surprise. They were branches? So they were seeing only one tree? Such a gigantic tree? They were cultivators with wide vision, yet they couldn't see a second tree.
"With your speed, it would take at least a day to fly across Rain Watching Platform," Cannon said, holding up one finger.
Lu Yin was astonished. A day's flight would be enough to get him from Asia to the westernmost part of Europe on Earth. That meant Rain Watching Platform was as large as the Eurasian continent. How could it be so big? It was just Rain Watching Platform. Could the Tenth Academy be as large as True Universe Star? Was it still an academy?
"There are many things to note in our Tenth Academy that can't be explained. Your senior will now transfer the information to you. Remember, you can't contact the outside world within the academy, only each other. Alright, exchange contact information now," Cannon suggested.
Michelle and the others didn't move, completely ignoring him.
The scene was a bit awkward.
Cannon was speechless. This was completely different from what he imagined. Where were the cute juniors he had hoped for? None of them were there, except for a little girl who was somewhat cute. How sad.
"Senior, where is the mentor?" Shuz asked.
Cannon had lost interest, responding listlessly, "Receive the information yourself and read it."
Lu Yin and the others immediately looked at their personal terminals. Sure enough, a message had arrived, containing information about the Tenth Academy.
The content wasn't much. Besides what Cannon had just introduced, there was information about the Treasure Pavilion, Trial Realms, and other things.
One thing caught Lu Yin's attention. If one could gain the recognition of Rain Watching Platform or Wanchuan Sand Sea, they could become disciples of the mentors there.
The Tenth Academy didn't lack mentors. To be taught by a mentor, one had to gain their recognition. Lu Yin didn't know if other war academies were the same, but he felt this method was strange.
Michelle frowned after reading through it, then looked up at Cannon. "Is this the teaching method of the Tenth Academy? The other nine academies have mentors dedicated to answering students' questions. Why doesn't the Tenth Academy have them?"