Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 1190 - 1044 Imperial Academy

Chapter 1190: Chapter 1044 Imperial Academy

Inside a fast-food restaurant.

Fang Xi sat in front of fried chicken and a beverage, holding a thin, transparent glass-like screen in his hand, skillfully swiping through.

Streams of information and news quickly flashed by.

Great New had long entered the electrical era, and its communication network was highly developed.

Through this latest generation of smartphones, a brief search revealed everything that had happened over thousands of years.

"Since more than two thousand years ago, when Mortal Skills were spread, the Great Prosperity of the Immortal Path began!"

"All sorts of basic cultivation techniques and accompanying talismans, pill arts, arrays were continuously researched and developed, pushing the boundaries and reaching a very high level..."

"This Great New was able to persist for over two thousand years, which is related to this... This regime actually implements the ’Nine-Ranks System’! What a decayed and backward system? And it still brazenly publicizes this, even protecting the dynasty for two thousand years without falling..."

Fang Xi looked up, watching the bustling traffic and neon lights outside the window, pedestrians crowding the streets, many dressed in retro Taoist robes and ancient clothes... he couldn’t help but feel speechless.

He continued his search, and his eyes immediately lit up:

"In Great New, cultivators who have reached Foundation Establishment can enter the ’Clan Record,’ establishing a nine-rank family..."

"Families of the ninth, eighth, and seventh rank are called ’poor families’... able to produce a Foundation Establishment cultivator generation after generation, and occasionally a Core Formation Master to keep the family from falling."

"Families of the sixth, fifth, and fourth rank are called ’noble families,’ consistently producing individuals in Core Formation, and occasionally even a Nascent Soul True Monarch."

"Families of the upper third-rank are ’noble clans,’ governing Great New together, filled with experts and reportedly with extremely terrifying backgrounds... Probably those who attacked me back then were from the founding ancestors of such clans?"

"Only those who enter the Clan Record are qualified to be taught the secret techniques of Foundation Establishment, participate in the minor and major Nine-Ranks assessments hosted by the system, and hence get the opportunity to reach Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Infant Condensing, reputed as ’Lower Grade without True Monarchs, Upper Grade without poor families’... This is Great New’s Nine-Ranks System, known as the ’Law of Eternal Unchangeability’!"

"The gap between these noble clans and noble families seems to be just one rank, but isn’t it too big?"

Fang Xi looked at the information he had gathered, somewhat at a loss for words.

"Indeed, the ultimate stage of Mortal Skills is monopolization... Ordinary sects monopolize Spirit Medicine like Foundation Establishment Pills, while higher ones monopolize Nascent Soul, Transcendent God, and Returning to Emptiness resources..."

"Those at the very top monopolize The Tao!"

He swept his Divine Consciousness around, finding that 99% of Xindu consisted of mortals and Qi Refining cultivators.

Those Qi Refining cultivators, the commoners of ancient times, not part of the ’scholar-class,’ almost never had the chance to attempt Foundation Establishment in their lifetimes.

Yet, they worked in various factories and stores, laboring for the scholar-class...

The entire society was surprisingly orderly, reminding one of a bustling ant colony.

Seeing this, Fang Xi thought of his past life.

The historical Nine-Ranks System allowed a small group to monopolize the right to govern, based on their monopoly of knowledge and interpretation.

In Great New it was even harsher, directly monopolizing cultivation; if not within the Nine-Ranks, not even considered a poor family, you could at most be a minor Qi Refining cultivator!

Knowledge needs to be transformed into power, but cultivation directly brings power, and even stronger power.

Thus, this rule was as stable as Mount Tai!

"However, I originally transmitted just one set of ’Mixed Origin Skills,’ capable of reaching Nascent Soul, how could it have blossomed so suddenly? And even the Four Arts of Cultivation were deduced?

Fang Xi sensed a conspiracy.

If it were claimed that such a flourishing Immortal Path developed over tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years, it might be plausible.

But merely two thousand years clearly indicated someone accelerated the process.

It must have been the Gold Immortals or Prime Taoist Masters from the Upper Realm!

The Immortals of this realm are extremely adept at divination and calculation; as long as they obtained the Mixed Origin Skills, using it as a foundation to deduce higher realms and even other Five Elements techniques was as easy as flipping their hand.

"It seems the Upper Realm Immortals highly value Mortal Skills..."

But Fang Xi quickly understood.

Although the ancient method of Shu Mountain progressed extremely fast, it required high talent, and not every genius could begin it.

Moreover, once one started cultivation, one had to overcome numerous challenges.

Even the realm of Sword Immortals faced various catastrophes, which was very troublesome.

By comparison, Mortal Skills were much simpler, focusing mainly on Heart Demons and Thunder Tribulations, both countable with external aids.

If combined with the unique reincarnation method of this world, reincarnating several times, the chances of cultivating to the Immortal realm could greatly increase!

’There really are experts in this world...’

’If one can cultivate both systems, using this world’s Gold Immortal methods combined with Mortal Skills to achieve CelestialImmortality and become a Prime Taoist Master, the difficulty would significantly reduce... Maybe it’s the only hope for many immortals stuck without advancement?’

As the first to unite these two systems and become a Prime Taoist Master, Fang Xi held a significant say.

’So, it’s quite possible some Gold Immortals specifically reincarnated to practice these Mortal Skills...’

’As for Prime Taoist Masters, it’s less likely, their paths are already set, hard to change...’

’Heh, this world’s cultivators indeed like to reincarnate and switch foundations when they hit a bottleneck...’

’But now, I, the Lord Reincarnation, have arrived!’

Fang Xi’s gaze seemed distant, as if seeing the ubiquitous yet traceless Reincarnation Disk.

This disk slowly turned, countless True Spirits rising and falling within, and he couldn’t help but reveal a slight smile.

...

After finishing his fried chicken, he stepped out of the restaurant, casually walking along the streets.

It wasn’t long before he arrived in front of a university town.

The university town, located in the suburbs of Xindu, spanned a massive area and was surrounded by an array that tightly locked the spiritual energy of the Spiritual Vein within each campus, allowing no leakage.

Naturally, the universities established here were no ordinary institutions.

Among the most renowned cultivation schools, there are only two.

It isn’t Mei Mountain University or Bamboo Mountain University, which had declined a millennium ago and later merged to become ’Meizhu University,’ ranking third on the cultivation school leaderboard.

The second-ranked among the cultivation universities is a private university operated by the Wang family of Langya—Langya University.

Ranked first is ’Imperial Academy’!

As a university officially established by the Great New dynasty, the Imperial Academy holds the top spot among many universities, where the success rate of graduates reaching Foundation Establishment reportedly exceeds fifty percent!

In contrast, the success rate of Langya University is only ten percent.

The situation at Meizhu University is even worse, with a graduate success rate around one percent.

But compared to the millions in society who cannot even achieve the Qi Refining completion in their lifetime—let alone the multitude who fail at Foundation Establishment—this is already a significant improvement.

For some reason, in the world of Shu Mountain, if Qi Refining completers don’t obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill or other such spirit objects, and rely solely on their own efforts, the success rate is one in ten thousand...

This is probably due to a slight difference in the laws of the two Big Thousand Worlds.

As for these cultivation universities, entrance is not determined by examinations but by officials, like low- and mid-level assessors sent by the Great New court, who survey the conduct, aptitude, and opportunities of the children from various noble families... Then they offer assessments, which the high-level assessors finally review to select the best for entrance to Imperial Academy.

If one cannot enter Imperial Academy, then by leveraging personal relationships, meeting minimum requirements, and paying high tuition fees, they can enter Langya University.

"There’s much room for manipulation here... thus the role of assessors as recruitment managers is indeed a lucrative position..."

Fang Xi shook his head, "Children from poor families can, at most, enter Langya or Meizhu University, rarely breaking through these barriers to enter Imperial Academy..."

Imperial Academy, being the premier educational institution, has ninety-nine percent of its students coming from Upper Third-rank noble families.

Its class stratification is absolutely outrageous.

Yet the more it is so, the more stable the Great New dynasty’s governance becomes, which is also logical.

"Natural selection, survival of the fittest... it’s nothing more than that."

"As for the individual cultivators of common origin, they spend a lifetime unassociated with universities..."

Fang Xi stood outside the university district, without entering.

The area strictly enforces hierarchy, with guards stationed and patrols... Ordinary mortals and individual cultivators are only driven away.

"Those reborn from Heavenly World, ninety percent ought to study at Imperial Academy..."

"It seems, should I perhaps play the role of a teacher once more?"

He snickered to himself.

Suddenly, accompanied by the cries of Flood Dragons, an antique carriage appeared from the sky.

This carriage, crafted entirely from bronze, was engraved with complex and profound runes.

Leading it were six Flood Dragons!

Although these Flood Dragons were of mixed blood, they still possessed the third-tier Core Formation level, their claws flailing and their presence extraordinary.

"It’s the Six Dragons Carriage! The new high-level assessor has arrived!"

"The current high-level assessor seems to be from the Horse Family. The Wang and Horse families share the world, even managing the assessments of all the talented cultivators in cultivation universities, deciding their futures with a single word, truly so..."

A group of cultivators watched with various shades of envy and resentment.

The Six Dragons Carriage stopped above the plaza of Imperial Academy, and a middle-aged man with a square face and star-decorated high hat stepped out.

His demeanor was stern, with a meticulous air about him.

Inside Imperial Academy, a group of Core Formation-level teachers had already flown out, respectfully greeting: "Honored to meet the high-level assessor..."

"Hmm... the new session of ’Month Evaluation’ is upon us, a crucial affair, not to be neglected."

The high-level assessor named Horse lightly cautioned before pulling a scroll of jade from his sleeve.

On the bamboo-like jade scroll, golden letters named various individuals along with evaluations.

Atop the list, prominently sat ’Ma Liang,’ followed by his life information and an eight-character assessment—’Top talent of Horse Family, best of Bai Mei.’

This short, eight-character assessment could determine whether a talented cultivator could go to Imperial Academy or just Meizhu University, or even be eliminated in disappointment...

Following Ma Liang was a Wang family youth, ’Wang Helong,’ with the evaluation ’Talented Langya, contenders fighting like dragons and cranes.’

"The high-level assessor’s evaluations are brilliant, we admire..."

The group of cultivators all showed deference.

"Of course, we select talents for the country, and we must not fail our conscience... This old man is just promoting without nepotism and favoritism..."

The high-level assessor named Horse waved his hand: "You all inspect it well, and if the list is correct, then publish it..."

He then bid farewell to the group of teachers and returned to his own Cave Mansion.

Suddenly, the image of a youth in green robes appeared before him.

"You..."

Before he could open his mouth, the world seemed to blur, and the youth before him became incredibly imposing.

"Life and death, Illusory Destruction like bubbles..."

Fang Xi softly recited as he watched the little figure inside the soap bubble in his hand, gently pinching it.

Pop!

The soap bubble burst instantly, and the little figure disappeared without a trace.

"To die under the Illusory Destruction Rule is an honor..."

Fang Xi sneered.

At this moment, he was still a youth in green, but after employing the Illusory Destruction Rule, in the eyes of others, he appeared as the high-level assessor.

This even confused magical treasures and bloodline restrictions, a true enactment of ’Stealing the Sky and Replacing the Day.’