Within Xia Feng Academy, the appearance of a Martial God powerhouse from Tian Du Academy stirred the entire institution, prompting even the rarely seen Martial God Elders to personally appear and welcome the visitor.
Other students and many instructors were greatly astonished. In previous years, the recruitment envoys from Tian Du Academy were indeed experts, but they were only Xiantian powerhouses. For a Martial God powerhouse to come in person was unprecedented.
However, the few Martial God Elders had already received inside information. This year's recruitment trial for Tian Du Academy was different from the norm and could not be judged by conventional standards.
Although the recruitment trials of past years were difficult, as long as one reached the eighth level of Houtian by the age of twenty-six, they were qualified to participate. But this year's trial was said to be the most difficult in recent memory.
It was rumored that among the four major colleges of Tian Du Academy—Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow—they intended to select a group of the most powerful geniuses to enter the Heaven and Earth colleges, while the Mystic and Yellow colleges would not participate in the recruitment trial.
The reason for this was unknown to outsiders.
Soon, the martial arts square where the Tian Du Academy Martial God powerhouse was located gathered a large number of students. Students from all four colleges—Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow—appeared here, facing the Martial God powerhouse from Tian Du Academy with a mixture of reverence and excitement.
This was especially true for students who had reached the eighth level of Houtian or above this year.
Although Xia Feng Academy was also a cultivation holy land, this status was limited to Xia Feng Kingdom alone. Compared to the vast Tian Du Continent, it was merely one of the one hundred and eight kingdoms, far from comparable to Tian Du Academy, which was hailed as the cultivation holy land of the entire continent.
That academy was the true cultivation holy land in the hearts of the world.
If graduating from Xia Feng Academy would earn one recruitment from all sides of Xia Feng Kingdom, then graduating from Tian Du Academy would earn one recruitment from various forces across the continent. Such a comparison was simply unimaginable.
They just didn't know the difficulty of this year's recruitment trial.
Soon, powerful auras quickly appeared, all at least at the Xiantian realm. They were the elite students of the Heaven-tier Academy. Although some would not participate in Tian Du Academy's recruitment trial, relatively speaking, more would.
Because no matter how you looked at it, Tian Du Academy's cultivation resources were far more terrifying than those of Xia Feng Academy. This was the true advantage of a superpower on the continent.
Finally, powerful young figures also appeared: Crown Prince Xia Yang, the Thirteenth Prince, Vivian, the red-clothed woman Hong Rong, Hua Shaoyang, Xia Mang, Li Hu, Yang Yi, and other outstanding figures from the Heaven-tier Academy.
Crown Prince Xia Yang was undoubtedly the most eye-catching. His figure was tall and straight, he wore a jade crown, his face was handsome, and his expression was cold and stern. Just standing there gave off a powerful oppressive force.
This was the powerful aura of the current Crown Prince of Xia Feng Kingdom, far surpassing other young peers of his generation, like an unassailable mountain standing there.
Even powerful figures like the Thirteenth Prince had to avoid his sharp edge and could not approach.
However, in the eyes of many female students, His Highness the Crown Prince remained dazzling. Although his expression was indifferent and emotionless, it added a touch of cold, stern charm. A man with such powerful cultivation, heroic bearing, and the status of a kingdom's crown prince was the ideal husband candidate in the eyes of many women.
Seeing Crown Prince Xia Yang's appearance, even the Tian Du Academy powerhouse who had only given a faint nod to the Xia Feng Academy Martial God Elders couldn't help but show a significant change in expression.
He had heard of this Crown Prince Xia Yang, who could produce seven-colored radiant light on the Power Monument and had been recognized as a possessor of divine qualification.
Such a peerless genius, even Heavenly God powerhouses from the four superpowers would want to recruit him. Even Chao Xue Tian Shen had praised him. As a Martial God, his gaze naturally burned with even greater fervor.
A possessor of divine qualification like this must be drawn into Tian Du Academy. In the future, barring accidents, even if he couldn't become a peerless Divine Spirit, he would undoubtedly have the qualifications to step into the Heavenly God realm. This was beyond doubt.
Throughout history, too many examples had proven this point.
The Martial God from the nine prefectures stepped forward and smiled warmly, saying, "Young friend, your qualifications have already met Tian Du Academy's requirements. Before I came, Lord Chao Xue Tian Shen instructed that if you are willing, you can join Tian Du Academy without going through the Trial Path, and directly enter the Heaven-tier Academy."
As soon as these words fell, everyone gasped, all looking at Xia Yang with envy and jealousy.
Heaven-tier Academy!
The Heaven-tier Academy of Tian Du Academy was vastly different from that of Xia Feng Academy. Xia Feng Academy's Heaven-tier Academy was merely modeled after Tian Du Academy's, where young Xiantian cultivators could join. But Tian Du Academy's Heaven-tier Academy, in terms of both standards and required qualifications, was far superior, not something one could join just by being Xiantian.
This Heaven-tier Academy gathered the most monstrous geniuses from across the entire Tian Du Continent, each young, extraordinary, and powerful. Achieving Martial God status in the future was almost inevitable, and there was at least a thirty percent chance of reaching the Heavenly God realm.
Thirty percent might seem small, but how many Heavenly God powerhouses were there on the entire Tian Du Continent? It wasn't something one could achieve just by wanting to. Basically, each kingdom had only one Heavenly God. For Xia Feng Kingdom to have more than two was an exception; the vast majority of the one hundred and eight kingdoms did not have two Heavenly Gods.
A thirty percent chance was already considered heaven-defying, enough to show the fearsomeness of Tian Du Academy's Heaven-tier Academy. There were even rumors of Martial God powerhouses appearing there, all incredibly young.
Being able to be exceptionally admitted to Tian Du Academy's Heaven-tier Academy without going through the trial was enough to prove Crown Prince Xia Yang's monstrous talent, which even Tian Du Academy valued highly.
However, Xia Yang shook his head and politely declined, "Thank you for your kindness, senior, but it's not necessary. I wish to personally participate and pass through the Trial Path."
A more important purpose was that he wanted to use this Trial Path to determine with Ye Chen who was the true strongest among the younger generation.
The crowd was stunned. Such a great opportunity was being abandoned just like that. But they also felt Xia Yang's confidence, stemming from his powerful strength. Even without Tian Du Academy's exceptional admission, he was confident he could pass this trial with his absolute strength.
"But this trial..." the Martial God from the nine prefectures suddenly said, then stopped, hesitating as if there were hidden circumstances, making many people speculate.
"Alright, since everyone is here, let the trial begin." The Martial God from the nine prefectures wasted no words. He directly threw out an object, which rapidly enlarged into a stone gate three zhang tall.
The stone gate opened, revealing a spatial gate leading to another mysterious place. However, inside was pitch black, infinitely deep, exuding waves of heart-palpitating fluctuations.
"Students who wish to participate in my Tian Du Academy's recruitment trial this year, please enter this gate to proceed to a Trial Path. Here are tokens and spirit talismans for each of you. The token is proof of identity, and each token represents two points. To pass the recruitment trial, you must obtain at least fifty points. If you obtain three hundred points or more, you will receive generous rewards."
"The way to earn points is to seize tokens from others on the Trial Path. As for this spirit talisman, it is only a last-resort life-saving talisman, bearing the imprint left by a powerhouse from our academy. Once you encounter danger, activating it will basically ensure safety unless a Martial God attacks, but it also means elimination, and all tokens obtained will be canceled." The Martial God from the nine prefectures took out the tokens and spirit talismans and explained.
The rules for passing the trial were so strict they made people gasp. At least fifty points were required, and each token was only worth two points, meaning one needed to seize at least twenty-five tokens.
To obtain generous rewards, one needed to seize over one hundred and fifty tokens. This seemed somewhat too difficult.
Then the Martial God from the nine prefectures said solemnly, "However, this year's recruitment trial is different from previous years. It carries great danger, and deaths may even occur. The spirit talisman may not necessarily guarantee safety. Young people who have not reached the Xiantian realm, please do not participate. Otherwise, if something happens, my Tian Du Academy will not be responsible."
"Moreover, the Trial Path is located in a different spatial realm. You cannot withdraw midway. You either reach the end of the Trial Path, hide in one place and wait for a powerhouse from my Tian Du Academy to find and bring you out, or you die."
The Martial God dispatched by Tian Du Academy spoke quite succinctly, getting straight to the point and stating the dangers of this year's recruitment trial. Anyone below Xiantian who participated was highly likely to die.
Even Xiantian powerfaces could face danger, because this year's recruitment trial was vastly different from previous years, filled with various dangers, so it could not be viewed with conventional reasoning.
Hearing this, everyone present immediately changed expressions. Why was it like this? Previous years weren't like this. Basically, as long as one reached the eighth level of Houtian by age twenty-six, they were qualified to enter Tian Du Academy.
But why was it like this this year? Either succeed, hide and protect yourself, or die. Wasn't that a bit too cruel?
Some students prepared to participate in this trial shouted that it was unfair. Why was it like this this year? They wanted a clear explanation.
But this Martial God simply looked disdainful and said indifferently, "If you don't want to participate, leave. I've already said, this year is different from previous years."
Many people turned pale. Hearing these words, they knew they were destined to be unable to join Tian Du Academy this time.
However, Crown Prince Xia Yang, the Thirteenth Prince, the red-clothed woman, Vivian, and others remained calm. Most of the other elite students from the Heaven-tier Academy were the same. They were extraordinary figures who had long known this news, so they were not surprised.
For them, seizing twenty-five identity tokens might not be too difficult. As for Crown Prince Xia Yang, everyone believed he had the ability to seize one hundred and fifty tokens.
"Could it be that plan has begun..." The Martial God realm Elders' hearts stirred. They glanced at each other, all showing shock, as if they understood something.
Suddenly, His Highness the Crown Prince frowned, his gaze sweeping through the crowd as if searching for someone. The Thirteenth Prince, Vivian, and several other elite students did the same.
Because someone was missing here, a very important person—Ye Chen!