Chapter 13: Bait (1)

Final year third class.

This was Su Yu's class. He had barely been to his classes in recent days. However, nobody thought much about it. The entrance examination was coming and everyone was nervous about it. Nobody could spare any attention on whether a classmate was skipping classes or not. In any case, Su Yu was not the only one being exempted from lessons.

There was a fourth-stage Source Opening cultivator in the class who had also been away from school for a long time. For students of that level, it was better for them to calm themselves and prepare for the upcoming examination than to actually go to school every day.

...

Su Yu went to class and sat down on his seat. He was in no rush to go looking for Liu Wenyan. It was still too early. Instructor Liu was probably busy reading this early in the morning. After all, that was a long-time habit of his. Chen Hao sat down beside Su Yu. The two were actually deskmates. Their teachers allowed the class to sit freely, so the two had decided to sit together.

Before long, a voluptuous woman of about thirty in age entered the class with a book in hand. She scanned the class without remarking on the attendance. Stopping at the front of the class, she opened her book and said, "The entrance examination is not far away. We'll stop with the basic lessons. Today, I'll give you a simple explanation on your possible future paths after graduation instead.

"I won’t talk about the four academy types. You already know that. I'll talk about those who couldn't even enter an internal affairs academy or those unwilling to enter one. What path can one such person take?"

The teacher smiled, "This is a magical era where the mundane and the extraordinary exist together. Some students are unwilling to stay mundane, hoping to step on an extraordinary path. Will there be no hope for you to be extraordinary after failing to enter a war academy? No. You still have hope."

At that point, even the students who had heard about the alternatives grew excited. It didn't matter if they had heard it somewhere else before. It was always more reliable to hear it from a teacher.

"The first path, also the more dangerous path, is to join an army."

The smile on the teacher's face vanished as she solemnly said, "I think you're all aware that the army is one of the places where a mundane person would find more chances at stepping onto an extraordinary path. By killing our enemies on the battlefield, you will earn merit points. Many of you have family members in the army. You should already be aware of this.

"That is an extremely dangerous path. We have a six-figure casualty rate yearly. However, I'm not here today to talk about the dangers of joining an army. Even if that is the path you decide to take, there are still multiple options within that path."

The teacher paused and looked at Chen Hao who had grown excited listening to her. She smiled and said, "Chen Hao, can you name the armed forces we have in Great Xia?"

Chen Hao stood up in excitement and said, "Firstly, we have the Martial Dragon Guards, the strongest army of Great Xia. Secondly, we have the Great Xia Army, the army in charge of the defense of Great Xia. Thirdly, we have the Windcatcher Department, in charge of arresting the Myriad Race Cult and maintaining law and order. Fourthly, the city guards of the various cities, in charge of defending the various cities.

"Apart from the Windcatcher Department, the other three forces will be expected to join the battlefield when things get difficult there. They can be considered the reserve force for our front line army."

The teacher smiled. "You're right. However, your answer is not comprehensive enough." "The Martial Dragon Guards is not a reserve force. They are not staying away from the Allheaven Battlefield because they're weaker than the front line army. Rather, it is because the front line does not require them there all the time. Apart from the four you mentioned, there are two other armed forces in Great Xia."

Chen Hao grew curious. The teacher continued with her explanation, "The fifth armed force is the front line army. In truth, a part of the front line army has always remained within Great Xia itself. Of course, they're very rarely seen. They are mainly in charge of recruiting new soldiers.

"The sixth armed force is the retired veterans. As you're all aware of, we have a lot of citizens that are retired veterans from the various armed forces. That is actually a rather formidable force in itself."

At that point, the teacher hesitated slightly before saying, "In fact, there is also a seventh armed force."

Everyone was astonished. There was more?

"Yes, we have a seventh armed force. The guards of the various schools and academies. Do not look down on these guards. Just take our Nanyuan Secondary School as an example. We're only a secondary school, but the Squad Leader Huang you all know is actually a ninth-stage Great Strength expert.

"At the capital, the school and academy guards are even stronger. There, you can find guards at the Infinite Strength Realm or even the Skysoar Realm. Including the instructors and the students of the war academies, the schools and academies can be considered a massive force that might even surpass the might of the Great Xia Army when combined. Of course, all of us combined would still be weaker than the Martial Dragon Guards."

Everyone had a look of understanding on their faces. That was a factor they had all overlooked.

"Therefore, I'm here today to tell you that even if you can't enter an academy, do not worry. There are many options leading to an extraordinary path. However, danger and opportunity exist at the same time. If you're not as good as others in your studies and cultivation, then you'll need to pay a greater price for success. You might even end up paying the ultimate price, your life."

The teacher sternly said, "Students wishing to step on an extraordinary path yet unable to enter a war academy can consider enlisting in the army. Going to the front line is the most dangerous path, but you will also have the highest chance of obtaining what you want there.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Secondly, you can consider joining the Great Xia Army. You can forget about the Martial Dragon Guards, but the Great Xia Army will recruit new soldiers every year. It is also much safer to join this army than going to the front line.

"Apart from the Great Xia Army, the Windcatcher Department also has their own academy known as the Windcatcher Academy. However, that isn't a popular academy. Also, their teaching method is rather crude. You will probably find yourself graduated and deployed to the various cities for active duty right after entering the Great Strength Realm. You will have a much earlier access to real combat there."

"..."

So it turned out that the teacher was essentially telling them to enlist.

Toward the end, the teacher shifted her tone and said, "Actually, if you can't enter a war academy and are also worried of the stress of joining an army, you can totally consider joining the city guards. The entrance examination for the city guards is much simpler. They also have a rather comprehensive training curriculum in place.

"Nanyuan isn't a big city, but our city guards aren’t weak. Everyone is in a rush to head to the capital. However, the capital is over a thousand kilometers away from Nanyuan. You'll be very far from home. Why don't you give the city guards a try?

"The leader of Nanyuan's city guards, 1000-Man Commander Zhang, is a ninth-stage Great Strength expert. He places great importance on the city guards and its reserve. He will frequently give personal pointers to the new recruits, and the more talented recruits will receive great care from him. The mayor himself looks highly upon the commander..."

"..."

At that point, most of the class understood what was going on. This was yet another recruiter in disguise. Of course, none of them were bothered. They were already used to this. It was that time of the year where students were about to graduate and the various forces were in need of fresh recruits. Nanyuan might be a small city, but the mayor still wished to forge an elite garrison for the city.

As the saying went, the pavilion closest to the water enjoys moonlight first. The city garrison had actually been able to recruit a decent number of talents from the city each year due to their location.

As students of Nanyuan Secondary School, there were still some third-stage Source Opening cultivators that were decently talented even if they weren't able to enter the war academies. With some training, these people would still be able to step into the Infinite Strength Realm in the future.

"Give it a thought. You don't have to rush your decision..."

At that point, the class was getting clamorous, but the teacher was unaffected. After she was done speaking, she allowed everyone to freely discuss the topic and walked up to Su Yu. Su Yu wasn't her target. Rather, it was Chen Hao.

"Chen Hao, you're a third-stage Source Opening cultivator. You still have a chance to join a war academy, but it's a rather small chance. If you can't get into one, why don't you consider the city guards? Your father is working in Nanyuan as well, right? Even a new recruit will be allowed to return home three days per month. This is a very good opportunity..."

Meanwhile, Chen Hao looked sullen. Why was she telling him all that? He would definitely be able to enter a war academy! He did not want to join the city guards! Why wasn't Su Yu given the same talk? She was obviously looking down on him!

Seeing Chen Hao's expression, the teacher smiled and asked, "Look at you. Are you looking down on the garrison?"

"No, of course not. But I still want to try joining a war academy. I'll think again if I fail."

Chen Hao sounded dispirited. He would reconsider only after failing his entrance examination to the war academies.

The teacher did not mind his reply. She looked at Su Yu and said with the same smile on her face, "Su Yu, you're slated to join a cultural research academy. Instructor Liu personally made sure of that. I shouldn't be saying this, but in case you don't want to join a cultural research academy, you can consider the city guards as well.

"The mayor is placing more and more importance on the city guards. You're a talented individual. Upon joining the city guards, you won't be assigned an unimportant position. The mayor actually has some openings in the Communication Division where you can work while learning. That is actually quite a valuable opportunity."

Su Yu gave it a thought and asked, "A city guard won't have much chance to enter the Allheaven Battlefield, right?"

"Yes." The teacher hurriedly replied, thinking that Su Yu was afraid of the battlefield.

Su Yu nodded and replied with a smile, "I see. Thank you, teacher. I'll give it a thought."

That was basically a polite rejection. What a joke. Su Yu would most certainly not join the city guards. He might have considered it in the past. If his father was still home and Nanyuan City could offer him something good, he wouldn't mind staying. He was also aware of the so-called Communication Division. It was a safe place to work with good benefits for its employees. But with his father gone, what was the point of staying in Nanyuan alone? Also, would he have access to the blood essence he needed in Nanyuan?

At that thought, Su Yu thought something and asked, "Teacher, between the war academies and the cultural research academies, which would have access to more blood essence?"

The abrupt question stunned the teacher. She answered, "Of course it's the war academies..."

"I mean in terms of variety. As a place of research, the cultural research academies should have access to more types of blood essence, right?"

"Yes...I guess?" The teacher wasn't too sure either. "In terms of variety, the cultural research academies should have more. At the very least, they will have more samples than the war academies. Most of the unused blood essence gained from the battlefield would be supplied to the cultural research academies. In terms of total quantity, the war academies would have more. For example, they will probably have a lot of blood essence capable of helping with one's cultivation."

Su Yu nodded. He had reached the same conclusion previously, but he was unsure. With a confirmation from his teacher, he was much more confident in his judgment. Quantity was good, but variety was more important for him. Without variety, how was he supposed to unlock more pages in his book? Also, without knowing the language, he wouldn't be able to read an unlocked page either. Was he supposed to ask others what those words meant after unlocking a page?

"Looks like I should focus on joining a cultural research academy after all."

As Su Yu was muttering to himself, someone shouted outside the classroom, "Su Yu, go see Instructor Liu. He's looking for you."

"Got it."

After getting permission from his teacher, Su Yu left the classroom.