Chapter Eighteen: The Saint of Heaven's Students

  The front gate of the Tian Sheng Academy was a vast and endless square, paved with huge stones that were twenty steps long and fifteen steps wide, which could not have been built without divine power.

  Qin Yi saw that the square was densely packed, with tens of thousands of people kneeling down. Among these kneeling people, there were even masters at the Blood Sacrifice Realm and the Marrow Cleansing Realm!

  "What are these people kneeling here for?" Qin Yi was puzzled in her heart, seeing that some of them even fainted and fell to the ground while kneeling, but no one came to care for them, and she didn't know how long they had been kneeling.

  Students from Tian Sheng College occasionally pass by, and they all ignore these kneelers.

  Qin Yi noticed that these passing disciples were all good at cultivating the Tao, full of spirit, with piercing eyes, and every move they made was vigorous and powerful, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

  They're just low-ranking students of Tian Sheng College!

  Qin Yixin secretly sighed in his heart, and also noticed that the disciples who were shuttling back and forth all had a jade plate on their waists, similar to the one Wu Xiaoming gave him, but the two words "Tian Sheng" on it were of different colors.

  Along the way, Qin Yi saw that there were four colors of red, orange, yellow and green, but these disciples, Qin Yi had confidence in defeating them, his strength was no longer comparable to those ordinary disciples.

  When he walked to the front gate of Tian Sheng College, Qin Yi exclaimed again.

  I saw it from afar and thought Tian Sheng College was towering, now standing in front of it, I feel even more like an insignificant ant.

  The gate of the Sacred Academy presented a noble golden color, towering into the clouds, with an aura that was awe-inspiring. On top of it, a large array had been laid down, and the entire gate was like a raging volcano, surging and rolling, rushing straight up to the sky. Just looking at this gate for a moment made one feel an overwhelming urge to kneel down and pay homage.

  Qin Yide calmed his mind, and since he had learned the Black Jiao's Breaking Void Skill, his heart had also been influenced by the dragon's aura, becoming more heroic and solemn. He was neither arrogant nor humble, and didn't show any signs of fear, unlike the other cultivators around him who were trembling with anxiety, who knew how many times better he was than them.

  When he saw Qin Yi walking over, a disciple standing in front of the college gate immediately looked over at him.

  "This senior brother, I am a new disciple of the Tian Sheng College, reporting for duty today." Qin Yi knew that the Tian Sheng College was home to many hidden dragons and crouching tigers, with masters as numerous as clouds. Therefore, he spoke in a very polite tone, addressing him as "senior brother". As he handed over his nameplate, he secretly slipped a silver note worth 100,000聚炎丹 into the other's sleeve.

  The disciple glanced at the amount of silver tickets, and his expression suddenly eased a lot. After checking Qin Yi's nameplate, he nodded and said: "Brother's nameplate is fine, I'll go in and report." After that, he turned around and walked towards the inner gate.

  Qin Yi saw the gate, and there were countless petals that could hold one person standing, floating around in all directions, swift as lightning. The disciple who had just spoken stood on a petal, and with a whoosh, flew to a place hundreds of feet away.

  "The words on this senior brother's nameplate are yellow, I don't know what it means. Different colors, could they represent different levels?"

  It wasn't long before this disciple returned, smiling at Qin Yi and saying: "Younger brother, you must have won your nameplate."

  Qin Yi nodded in agreement, and the other person continued: "According to the rules of our Tian Sheng College, if you win this nameplate, you will become a student of our Tian Sheng College. However, since you signed up a bit late, there's been some trouble."

  Qin Yixin's mind was quick-witted, and at this moment another silver note with a value of 100,000 yuan was handed over, asking: "I don't know what the problem is, please instruct me, Shixiong."

  After receiving Qin Yi's money, the disciple of Tian Sheng College became even more enthusiastic and smiled: "My name is Wu Peng, and your junior brother is Qin Yi, right? Now things are like this, your senior brother's nameplate represents an apprentice disciple. The registration time for apprentice disciples ended four days ago..."

  "What!" Qin Yi felt as if a thunderbolt had struck the clear sky, his fists clenched tightly. His efforts, the strange encounters, the hardships he had endured along the way - were they all to be rendered useless just because of a missed timing?!

  As his eyes swept to Wu Peng's smiling face, Qin Yi's heart skipped a beat. He composed himself and handed over two silver tickets worth 100,000 yuan each: "Please instruct me, senior brother."

  Wu Peng nodded with a smile, apparently very satisfied with Qin Yi's performance. He said, "Actually, Brother doesn't have to worry too much. Although the registration time for apprentices has ended, the test time hasn't passed yet. It just so happens that today is the day of the test. I'll help you get in touch with the right people. As long as you pass today's test, you can still be a disciple of our Tian Sheng College."

  It seems that Qin Yi didn't quite understand, so Wu Peng patiently explained again: "Generally, new disciples will receive a test on the third or fourth day after entering the sect to prevent anyone from faking their way in."

  As soon as he heard that there was still a chance, Qin Yi's heart also put down, and just about to give Wu Peng the silver ticket again, but saw Wu Peng stretch out his hand to stop himself, and said seriously: "If I accept my brother's silver ticket again, wouldn't it seem like I'm greedy? Brother, follow me, I'll take you to the test site, and introduce you to Tian Sheng College. As long as you pass the test and enter Tian Sheng College, on the Yufeng Continent, whoever wants to provoke you will have to weigh their actions carefully."

  Qin Yi nodded and followed Wu Peng as he strode across the blazing gate.

  He had known before that the largest sects and academies on the Wind Continent, such as the Tian Sheng Academy, were like tigers and dragons, far superior to any country on the continent. Even the lowest-ranking miscellaneous disciples who returned to their hometowns were often one level higher than others, simply because they were from the Tian Sheng Academy.

  After crossing the gate, Qin Yi saw that behind the gate was a deep ditch hundreds of feet deep, filled with lush green grass, making people feel refreshed and delighted. The narrowest part of the ditch was 50 or 60 zhang wide, winding and twisting, leading to the distance. On both sides of the abyss stood countless towering mountains, with layers of colorful clouds, like rainbow bridges, connecting various peaks.

  A misty glow filled the air, with a spiritual aura overflowing everywhere. The light circles were interconnected like a paradise, and the refreshing air came straight to him. Qin Yi felt refreshed and invigorated, with an indescribable sense of comfort.

  "In ancient times, our college had an ancient great sage who laid down a large array based on mountains, rivers and streams, gathering the spiritual energy of the sun, moon and stars. Therefore, as long as you are in the Tian Sheng College, your cultivation will be twice as effective, and other sects can't keep up with us." Wu Peng said proudly, leading Qin Yi to step onto a petal.

  Qin Yi only felt like he was stepping on a soft carpet, surrounded by fragrance, and the scenery in front of him was like an arrow, blinking his eyes, the previous college gate had been thrown far behind.

  Taking advantage of this opportunity, Qin Yi also asked the previous question: "Senior brother, I saw that the color of the words on the nameplate is different before. Does it represent a different identity? Please introduce senior brother."

  "Uh-huh, this is simple, but you have to remember it clearly, because once you break the rules, the punishment is very severe. Let me tell you in detail."

  Wu Peng cleared his throat and continued, "The disciples of the Academy are divided into seven levels. The colors you mentioned, namely red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, represent these seven identities respectively. They are: miscellaneous disciple, apprentice disciple, outer circle disciple, lower-level disciple, middle-level disciple, higher-level disciple, true transmission disciple, and elite disciple."

  "Disciples of different levels receive different treatment in the academy, of course, the higher the better. The higher one's status, the more attention they receive from the academy, and the better their cultivation conditions will be."

  Wu Peng said while pointing at Qin Yi's nameplate: "Your nameplate is orange, which means you are a disciple of the Academy."

  Qin Yi nodded in understanding, so it seemed that Wu Peng was one level higher than him and was an outer disciple.

  Wu Peng smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "I've been at the Tian Sheng College for five years, but I'm still just an outer disciple."

  "What?" Qin Yi was startled.

  "Junior brother, don't be surprised. Once you officially join, you'll understand that advancing in the Tian Sheng Academy is harder than you can imagine. You must complete the academy's tasks or make contributions to earn merit points, which can be used to exchange for resources and improve your cultivation. After improving your cultivation and meeting the requirements, you'll need to pass multiple tests before you can advance and receive better treatment."

  Qin Yi could see that Wu Peng was still somewhat depressed about being an outer disciple for five years, so he comforted her with a few words.

  Wu Peng had previously received benefits from Qin Yi, and at this moment, after listening to Qin Yi's comforting words, he suddenly regarded Qin Yi as his lifelong confidant. He said: "Younger brother, I'll continue to introduce you around. If there's any trouble in the academy in the future, just come find me. In this academy, we need to take care of each other."

  "Our Tian Sheng College, Refining Flesh Realm, and having a quota, can become miscellaneous disciples. You see those people kneeling outside the door, among them, there are actually some with quite good abilities, but unfortunately, they were born in poor circumstances, so they don't have a quota to enroll. Every day, many people kneel there, hoping to move the school's elders to give them a quota."

  "The number of miscellaneous disciples is roughly estimated to be around 500 million."

  Hearing this number, Qin Yi couldn't help but click his tongue.

  "Miscellaneous duty disciples are the lowest in the academy, like ants, only slightly better than some ordinary people who accompany readings. They live in dormitories with twenty people per room and are usually responsible for sweeping the academy and raising spiritual beasts."

  "Upon reaching the Refining Membrane boundary, one becomes a disciple, with approximately 800 million people. They can learn the most basic fist techniques and live in eight-person dormitories."

  "When you reach the Bone Refining Realm, you can be promoted to an Outer Disciple, which is considered half-entry. There are about 40 million Outer Disciples. However, the competition among Outer Disciples is also the most brutal of all disciples. Every three days, a low-ranking disciple will come to instruct, and every seven days there will be an assessment. Outer Disciples who fall behind in their performance will be demoted to Apprentice Disciple status and wait for another opportunity to rise up. However, although the competition among Outer Disciples is brutal, the treatment has improved significantly, and you can now live in a single room with good environment."

  "Once you reach the Bone Marrow Realm, you can become a Lower Disciple, with about 600,000 people. As long as you become a Lower Disciple, your status will no longer be reduced. Every half month, you can receive a Spiritual Energy Baptism, learn high-level fist techniques, and have your own independent house and courtyard, which is considered to be completely independent."

  "If the realm of Ji Miao were to be placed in the Great Wu Dynasty, Yu Hua City, it would be a strong man who would be looked up to by everyone. I didn't expect that in Tian Sheng College, he was just a low-ranking disciple. Tian Sheng College is indeed very frightening." Qin Yi thought to himself: "Qin Hongren has arrived, but he's only an outer disciple. Qin Hongyi is also just a low-ranking disciple in Tian Sheng College."

  Wu Peng suddenly stopped talking and Qin Yi looked over curiously.

  Wu Peng smiled and said, "Junior brother, as for the number of people and treatment in the middle stage, I'm not very clear either. When you have the chance, go ask other senior brothers. However, from what I know, to become a middle-stage disciple, one must at least break through the physical limit of cultivation, reach the Flame Soul Great Boundary, and become a Flamer, only then will there be hope."

  Qin Yi knew that the rules of Tian Sheng College were very strict, and some deeper things, Wu Peng was not very clear about either, could only wait until later to understand them himself.

  The two chatted idly for a while, and in this brief moment, they had already flown out of several thousand kilometers. The speed of the flower petals under their feet also began to slow down at this time.

  "We're almost there." Wu Peng pointed at a massive building in the distance that was built on a cliff, resembling an arena for beast fights.

  Looking at the magnificent building, Qin Yi suddenly felt a stir in his heart, his expression unchanged, and said: "Shixiong, among the new students who just entered school this time, have you heard of Qin Yuyi and Qin Hanzong?"