Chapter 24

Jiang Jian stepped up to the cabin door and stepped inside.

A few meters ahead, there was another door.

This door looked extremely heavy.

Its surface was woven with spiderweb-like beams of light.

At every moment, they swept back and forth.

“Please present your identity device.”

A cold mechanical voice sounded.

Jiang Jian stepped forward and raised his wrist.

Immediately, several beams of light scanned over, stopping at Jiang Jian’s hand.

A few seconds later.

“Verification successful. Level-3 Talent, new recruit, Anhezhou, Jiang Jian.”

“Admission to Cabin 1 authorized.”

Boom!

The dense beams of light receded inch by inch, and the second door opened.

Du Fang and Song Ling also raised their wrists to verify their identities.

“Anhezhou actually has a Level-3 Talent?”

A voice of surprise rang out as they stepped through the door.

The blinding light faded.

Jiang Jian squinted, and the scene before him gradually sharpened.

Before him stood a vast cabin, towering like a skyscraper.

Not far away,

numerous luxurious sofas and chairs were arranged.

Farther still, they were separated by the cabin’s scanning beams.

Only faintly visible were many large instruments glowing blue.

Nothing else could be seen.

In other words,

although the cabin was enormous,

the new recruits’ movement range within Cabin 1 was quite limited.

The man who had spoken earlier sat on a sofa, watching Jiang Jian and the others: “None of the other cities in Anhezhou have a Level-3 Talent.”

“Yet Guangling City has produced three at once!”

He wore a middle school uniform.

Clearly, he too was a new recruit about to enroll.

Several others sat beside him, eyeing them with curiosity.

“Among these three, there probably isn’t a ‘Shu’?”

“Don’t know.”

“Can’t tell yet.”

Besides these people,

most others sat in small groups, scattered across different areas, silent.

“Let’s go over there.”

Jiang Jian ignored them, scanning the surroundings until he found an empty bar counter.

Several chairs stood beside it.

Although the open area of the cabin was small,

there were seven or eight bar counters.

Each was filled with expensive wines and all kinds of beverages.

“Gu Qi said he’s traveled through all six states of Linjiang Prefecture.”

Jiang Jian sat down. “These people are likely the only Level-3 Talent new recruits from all six states.”

Du Fang picked up three drinks and sat beside him, lowering his voice.

“Jiang Jian, I just received a message from home.”

Song Ling sat on the chair to the left and said, “Stop dragging it out!”

Du Fang opened a drink and took a long gulp.

Wiping his mouth, he finally spoke: “Linjiang Academy’s main recruitment area is actually its direct jurisdiction, Linjiangzhou.”

“Eighty percent of Linjiang Academy’s new recruits come from Linjiangzhou!”

“All of us—including those who just spoke—are external recruits.”

“As Linjiang Prefecture’s premier Divine Gift university,

whenever a Level-3 Talent emerges in any of the seventeen states, Linjiang Academy sends people to snatch them up.”

“Most of the time, they succeed.”

“But occasionally, they arrive too late.”

“In such cases, Level-3 Talent candidates sign enrollment agreements and remain at their local Divine Gift universities.”

Listening to him,

Song Ling frowned and asked, “I just checked—the second cabin already has over two hundred people.”

“How many new recruits does Linjiang Academy have this year?”

Du Fang pulled up his identity device’s data: “Last year, Linjiang Academy’s first-year intake totaled 1,800.”

“Of those, 1,500 were from Linjiangzhou.”

“The remaining 300 came from the other states.”

“This year may vary slightly, but it should be roughly the same.”

Hearing this,

Jiang Jian smiled and said, “Now I understand why Gu Qi brought those students along.”

Du Fang and Song Ling exchanged glances, both turning to Jiang Jian.

Jiang Jian pointed to Du Fang’s screen: “Linjiang Academy scours the entire prefecture for Level-3 Talents, yet local city governments and Divine Gift universities harbor no resentment.”

“It’s because,”

“these students in Cabin 2,”

“by all normal standards, have no qualification to enter Linjiang Academy.”

“But because of us,”

“they’ve gained the chance to enroll.”

Song Ling’s eyes lit up: “Jiang Jian, you mean this is an exchange?”

“While Linjiang Academy takes away Level-3 Talent students,”

“it must also take a few local students who don’t meet the standard?”

Jiang Jian nodded: “Exactly.”

“Ordinary students, once they advance in cultivation, often give back to their hometowns.”

“Local city governments know their resources are limited.”

“They can’t adequately support the growth of Level-3 Talents.”

“So they’re willing to hand over their Level-3 Talents to Linjiang Academy.”

“But with a condition:”

“they must also take some local students.”

Hearing this,

Du Fang raised his drink with a grin: “So those 26 people who just entered Linjiang Academy? They’re all basking in our three’s glory.”

Song Ling glanced at him: “I don’t like seeing you look like this, but it might just be true.”

Du Fang clucked his tongue: “I was just wondering why Gu Qi seemed to look down on those students, yet still recruited them.”

“Now I finally understand why.”

As they spoke,

someone approached the bar counter, smiling and extending a hand: “Hello, fellow students. I’m Shi Xuan, from Shaoshuizhou.”

Du Fang stood up and shook his hand: “I’m Du Fang. We’re from Anhezhou.”

Shi Xuan glanced at the three of them and raised his identity device: “My talent is Level-3 ‘Wu.’ Let’s be friends.”

Du Fang exchanged identity data with him and smiled: “Mine too—Level-3 ‘Wu.’”

“What a coincidence.”

Shi Xuan smiled and turned to Jiang Jian and Song Ling.

Song Ling stepped forward to exchange identity data: “I’m Song Ling. Level-3 ‘Xin.’”

“Nice to meet you, Song Ling.”

Shi Xuan’s gaze shifted to Jiang Jian.

Shi Xuan's gaze shifted and landed on Jiang Jian.

Jiang Jian offered a formulaic smile and swiped his identity device.

“I’m Jiang Jian, Level 3 ‘Art’.”

As he finished speaking.

Shi Xuan’s eyes instantly lit up.

He gave Jiang Jian a pointed look and said, “We’re all one in a million, clawing our way up from backwater towns. Once we’re at Linjiang Academy, we’ll look out for each other.”

Jiang Jian smiled. “Naturally.”

Shi Xuan shook hands with Jiang Jian.

Then he tapped a few times on his own identity device and grinned. “Classmate Jiang Jian, I’ve sent you a document—might be useful for you.”

With that said.

He turned and walked away from the bar.

Dū!

A notification chimed.

Jiang Jian’s identity device had received a new message.

It was an extremely detailed document.

“Linjiang Academy: Admission and Division Assignment Rules.”

At the same time.

Song Ling and Du Fang both received this message.

“This Shi Xuan is actually quite decent.”

Du Fang opened the document and praised it.

“How can you trust people so easily?”

Song Ling sighed.

Jiang Jian said nothing but opened the document and studied it closely.

Linjiang Academy.

The premier Divine Gift university of Linjiang Prefecture.

Its scale was simply enormous.

Each grade had its own separate campus.

Within each grade’s campus, there were even seventeen divisions!

Linjiang Academy enforced a brutal ranking system.

Student subsidies were distributed according to division ranking—from most to least!

Cultivation is all about securing resources!

If you’re assigned to a lower-ranked division,

resources become scarce.

Fall behind one step, and you’ll never catch up!

“Seventeen divisions.”

“They’re named after the seventeen prefectures of Linjiang.”

“First Division: Linjiang Division.”

“Most abundant subsidies!”

“Top-tier faculty and teaching system!”

Du Fang stared in shock, pointing at the top line of the document.

“Level 4 Talent: Direct admission to Linjiang Division!”

“Anyone below Level 4 Talent must follow the division assignment rules and take the entrance assessment!”

“I’ve never met anyone with Level 4 Talent!”

Song Ling shook his head. “Didn’t Gu Qi, that third-year student just now, have Level 4 Talent?”

“Gu Qi does indeed have Level 4 Talent.”

Du Fang snapped back to himself and nodded numbly.

(End of Chapter)