Cannon glanced at Michelle in surprise, noting how much she seemed to know. "I don't know," he replied. "I'm just a student, although a bit more handsome and experienced. I have no authority over academy matters."
Michelle withdrew her gaze and began noting something on her personal terminal.
Cannon's expression suddenly changed as he whispered into his personal terminal, "Mentor Sand Sea, there's a problem. The rumor might be true. The Ten Decisions Council has sent someone to monitor the academy. It should be that woman. What? You don't care? How can that be? That damned girl might expose our secrets. Yes, yes, I know we don't have any real secrets, just issues with our teaching approach. But if your catchphrase 'Whoever learns is an idiot' gets out, it wouldn't look good. Fine, fine, if you say don't worry, we won't. But don't blame me if the academy gets shut down by the council."
"How do you get recognized by Rain Watching Platform?" Lu Yin asked.
"It's simple. Just write your name with star energy and push it across the Rain Watching Platform without it breaking," Cannon replied.
Zhao Yilong moved, flicking his finger. Star energy formed a long sword at his fingertip, twisting into the characters for 'Zhao Yilong.' He pushed it forward, but it disintegrated shortly after, vanishing into the rain.
Michelle's cold voice cut through the air. "To get recognized, you need even finer control of star energy. This is too stringent. No wonder the Tenth Academy hasn't produced any outstanding talents for thousands of years. Your teaching methods are flawed; the mentors don't want to teach."
Cannon rolled his eyes. This woman was beautiful, but she seemed to be looking for trouble.
"Are the mentors here really that powerful?" Keke asked, raising her hand.
"At least at the Hunter level," Michelle answered calmly. "Otherwise, they wouldn't be qualified to teach at the Starry Sky War Academy."
Keke exclaimed, "Hunter level, that's incredible."
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. The Hunter level was on par with Immortal Yushan, but the mentors here were from the Starry Sky War Academy, far more powerful than Immortal Yushan. Did all the mentors possess such strength?
"If only a mentor could teach us directly," Keke murmured.
"Of course, it's possible," Cannon laughed. "As long as you meet the conditions, you can even become a personal disciple of a mentor and gain access to powerful combat techniques passed down from ancient times in the Tenth Academy."
Everyone's eyes lit up. "What are the conditions?"
Cannon grinned mischievously. "If you can get your name across the Rain Watching Platform, you get recognized. But from ancient times to now, there have always been top prodigies who not only crossed the platform but left their names lingering in the rain for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years. These names form a list—the Rain List. Anyone who makes it onto the Rain List can become a personal disciple of any mentor and receive ancient combat techniques from the Tenth Academy."
Everyone's eyes shone. The Rain List? Ancient techniques and names that never fade?
"Where can we see the Rain List?" Zhao Yilong shouted.
Cannon chuckled. "I don't know. It's said only those who enter the Rain List can see it. Others aren't qualified."
Michelle turned to face the rain, raising her hand. She wrote 'Michelle' with star energy and pushed it into the rain. Everyone watched intently.
Among the group, Michelle seemed the strongest, having received the first gift and knowing the most about the academy. Her background and strength intrigued everyone.
Zhao Yilong, a strong explorer from Myriad Sword Mountain, couldn't get his name past a hundred meters. But Michelle's name surpassed that distance, continuing further until it eventually shattered.
"Too bad it didn't go beyond this tree," Cannon remarked.
Michelle frowned.
The others took turns trying. Lu Yin used five stars to carve a path, pushing his name into the rain, but it shattered around three hundred meters. Gray White Night's name broke at five hundred meters, and Sharo's name got closest to Michelle's but also broke.
"No need to try anymore. I've been at the Tenth Academy for years and haven't done it. You're far from it. The Rain List holds only a hundred names. If you're talented enough, try to push them out. But not now," Cannon said.
Gray White Night sneered. If it were any of the other nine academies, he might not be confident, but the Tenth Academy? It hadn't produced any strong figures. He was sure that with time to study, he could make the Rain List.
"Senior, I want to go to the trial realm," Lulu said excitedly.
The others were intrigued, looking at Cannon. The trial realms were the most enticing part of the Starry Sky War Academy, rumored to offer ancient techniques, skills, and bloodlines. Even the Ten Decisions had entered them, drawing immense attraction.
Cannon shrugged. "Sorry, junior. The trial realms aren't freely accessible."
Michelle's eyes turned cold. "The Starry Sky War Academy holds the keys to the nine trial realms. Anyone admitted should be able to enter. Why not the Tenth Academy?"
Cannon spread his hands. "There are conditions."
The group felt helpless. More conditions? Wasn't this an academy? Shouldn't it be open for students to learn? How could the academy deny students eager to learn?
"What conditions?" Gray White Night asked coldly.
"You've probably heard of the Boundary War, right? Win a hundred matches in the Boundary War, and you can enter the trial realms," Cannon said indifferently, his eyes showing some sympathy.
Michelle was furious. "Ridiculous! As a representative of the Ten Decisions Council, I protest. Every student admitted has the right to enter the trial realms. This is universally recognized. What gives the Tenth Academy the right to deny this?"
The Ten Decisions Council? The others were shocked, looking at Michelle in surprise. She was from the Ten Decisions Council?
Cannon sighed, feeling resigned. This woman was indeed here to cause trouble, despite being a beauty. "Junior, this isn't something I can decide. If you want, you can speak to the realm mentor."
Michelle snorted. "Lead the way."
They didn't know how far the Rain Watching Platform was from the trial realm entrance, so they followed Cannon to the teleportation device, instantly transporting to the trial realm entrance.
"Brother Xia, what is the Boundary War?" Lu Yin asked, unfamiliar with it.
Xia Luo organized his thoughts, and Shuz and Meng Yue also listened. "It's a mysterious phenomenon in the universe where strange stones called Boundary Stones can perfectly replicate you into a space where you fight others who touch the stones. This is the Boundary War."
"Matching?" Lu Yin was surprised, recalling old games on Earth that had matchmaking battles.
Xia Luo shook his head. "Matching seeks equivalent opponents based on conditions. The Boundary War doesn't. You might face any strong opponent, from the Observer realm to someone who traverses the stars. There's no fairness, and Boundary Stones are extremely rare, held only by powerful academies, races, and forces. So, any opponent in the Boundary War is an elite. At our level, we're the lowest tier."
Lu Yin was astonished. According to Xia Luo, those who held Boundary Stones were terrifying powers, including the White Night Clan and Mebius Clan, along with the top nine academies. Their strength varied, but as explorers, they were the weakest. No wonder Michelle was angry. Their level was too low compared to those people, making a hundred victories extremely difficult.
They weren't battling the likes of Erde and Lars but true cosmic prodigies, who were nearly unmatched among their peers. Defeating them was as hard as climbing the sky.
Lu Yin felt pressured, seeing countless strong prodigies ahead as future opponents.
In a flash, Lu Yin left the dark green rain of the Rain Watching Platform and appeared on a grassy field.
Yellowed grass covered the ground, swaying in the breeze, glowing faintly under the strange twilight. The fresh, pleasant scent filled the air.
"This is the trial realm entrance and where the Boundary Stone is. The realm mentor is inside that hollow tree. You can go. See you later," Cannon waved and left.
In the distance, a giant tree lay like a crescent on the ground, its surface withered, covered in countless cracks. The tree was enormous, piercing the clouds, its interior hollow, forming an independent forest.
Michelle was the first to rush toward the withered tree, the others following closely.
As they stepped onto the tree, they were immediately drawn to a brightly glowing stone in the distance.
The stone floated mid-air, veiled in a hazy mist that obscured its surroundings.
"Is that the Boundary Stone? What a fascinating object," Xia Luo remarked, seeing it for the first time.