Battle Through the Heavens: Top Talent

Chapter 4 Selection

Walking along the path, looking at the family compound that had suddenly become much emptier, Xiao Yun had a bad feeling.

Today, the Canaan Academy's recruitment team is arriving in Utan City. Judging from the situation, most of the family members will probably go to watch and participate in the selection.

If the Xiao family is like this, then the others probably aren't much better. Xiao Yun estimated that the square where the recruitment selection was being held was probably already overwhelmed by the excited crowd.

……

He ran quickly toward the designated recruitment plaza of Canaan Academy. Although he had prepared himself mentally, he was still dumbfounded when he arrived and saw the sea of ​​people that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

"What a bunch of lunatics, what are they doing here? Do they think more people will make it easier?"

Amidst the clamor that filled the vast plaza, countless young people were desperately pushing their way into the center of the square.

On the square, the army dispatched by the city lord's mansion was maintaining order, but because there were too many people, it was like scratching an itch through a boot, and it didn't do much good.

Staring blankly at the sea of ​​people, Xiao Yun sighed softly. Judging from the situation, he could forget about passing the test smoothly today.

After circling the huge square, Xiao Yun finally revisited the place.

Originally, he wanted to see if he could find the Xiao family's main force and see if he could follow them, but apart from the fully armed army, there were only ordinary people who came to watch the fun. There was no shortcut to take.

Xiao Yun didn't have the ability to get the soldiers responsible for maintaining order to open a back door for him, so he could only return to where he started.

"Forget it, let's just use the stupid method and squeeze in honestly."

Taking advantage of his shorter stature, Xiao Yun squeezed around the waist of the crowd of onlookers for a long time before finally emerging from the darkness, covered in sweat.

"Phew, finally out. These onlookers are something else, huddled together in this heat to watch the show." Looking at the green tent in the distance, Xiao Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The distance between the crowd and the tents was not short, with several passageways in between. In the passageways, young men who looked like trainees were testing people with blue crystal balls the size of their fists.

Xiao Yun walked straight to a quiet passage, and soon it was his turn to go up for the test.

Looking at Xiao Yun's childlike appearance, the male trainees undergoing the test were very curious.

"Little friend, this isn't a place to play games. This is the Canaan Academy's admissions selection process. Where are your family members? They'll be worried if they can't find you."

"Uh, I know, I'm here to take the test. Please take the test for me, senior."

Xiao Yun silently rolled his eyes. He was suffering from his age; everyone thought he was playing childish games.

"Then inject your battle qi into this testing crystal. Once you inject your battle qi, the crystal will light up automatically when your cultivation reaches the eighth level of battle qi. That means you've passed the preliminary test."

The male student didn't believe what Xiao Yun said, but testing his fighting spirit wasn't troublesome, so he decided to play around with the kid in front of him for a bit.

"Hmm..." Xiao Yun nodded in understanding, stepped forward and placed his right hand on the crystal ball. After a moment, he waited until the crystal ball lit up before withdrawing his palm.

"Wow, it really lights up!" The male student exclaimed in disbelief, wondering if the crystal ball in his hand had broken because too many people were testing it.

"Wait a moment, I'll get another testing crystal." Without waiting for Xiao Yun's reply, the male student turned around and quickly ran to the others, bringing back another crystal ball.

Xiao Yun remained silent, understanding that the person in front of him was somewhat unable to accept that he had passed the test at such a young age. He silently placed his hand on the crystal ball, and after a moment, the crystal ball lit up again.

"!" The male student's jaw almost dropped to the ground. He couldn't understand why the difference between people was so great. After all, Xiao Yun was really too young. When he was that age, he was still playing in the mud.

"I've passed now, right?" Xiao Yun's voice startled him. "Yes, you've passed. Go in now."

Xiao Yun nodded and slowly walked towards the tent. Inside the large green tent, he saw more than ten men and women huddled together in several small groups, chatting idly in the cool shade.

Outside the shade, more than twenty young men and women sat on the ground under the scorching sun, their faces dripping with sweat from the heat. Their expressions were restrained; they appeared to be freshmen who had just passed the external tests.

"Cousin Xiao Yun, come here!" someone among the freshmen called out excitedly when they saw Xiao Yun approaching.

Looking over, he saw two young men dressed in Xiao family attire waving at him, their foreheads covered in sweat.

These two were the ones Xiao Yun had seen at the training ground a few days ago and thought had a chance of passing the Canaan Academy's entrance exam. Unexpectedly, both of them were lucky enough to join Canaan Academy.

Their shouts undoubtedly attracted the attention of many people, and the freshmen curiously sized up the rumored number one genius of Wutan City.

Ignoring the stares of those people, Xiao Yun walked straight up to the two members of the Xiao family.

"So many people from the family came, and only the two of you passed the test?"

It wasn't surprising that someone from the Xiao family passed the test, after all, they were one of the three major families in Wutan City. However, the fact that only two people actually passed the test surprised Xiao Yun.

The Xiao family's coming-of-age ceremony requires individuals to reach the seventh level of Dou Qi by the age of sixteen. It's not surprising that none of those under sixteen passed, but the fact that only two individuals over sixteen passed is quite disastrous.

"Only the two of us passed, but actually there were some other people in the family who also met the requirements, but they didn't want to go to Canaan Academy, and instead went to other sects to cultivate."

Xiao Yun nodded in realization. Perhaps for many people, Canaan Academy is a sacred place in their hearts, but there are always some who believe that it is better to cultivate in a sect than in an academy.

Under the blazing sun, Xiao Yun sat on the ground, chatting idly with two fellow clansmen. As time passed, the sun gradually moved to its zenith, and the number of new students waiting around them increased by a dozen or so.

After their casual conversation, Xiao Yun learned the names of the two clansmen, Xiao Long and Xiao Hu. They were brothers, with Xiao Long being one year older than Xiao Hu, but both of them were at the ninth level of Dou Qi cultivation.

The three of them had become quite familiar with each other, and Xiao Hu dared to complain to Xiao Yun, "Damn it, these senior students are deliberately letting us stand here in the sun, and they haven't bothered to do anything about it."

Xiao Yun glanced at Xiao Hu. He knew this was an old tradition of Canaan Academy. Those who could reach the admission threshold were generally considered to be talented young people. They were usually pampered in their own small hometowns and rarely suffered any ridicule or mockery.

Joining Canaan Academy, a place teeming with outstanding individuals, with this mindset can easily lead to trouble, with fights breaking out at the slightest disagreement.

Therefore, when recruiting students, senior students need to let new students know their own capabilities and temper their arrogance to avoid unnecessary trouble later.

What Xiao Yun and his group are going through now is the process of having their sharp edges worn down.

Xiao Yun personally didn't feel anything. Although this behavior was a bit excessive, he wasn't some arrogant and domineering person. Unless it was specifically targeted at him, he wouldn't bother to take action.

However, if some ignorant nobody dares to slap him in the face, he can reluctantly smash their face.

Seeing Xiao Hu's dissatisfied expression, Xiao Yun smiled helplessly, "Just bear with it a little longer. These senior students just want to dampen our spirits. We're not strong enough, so complaining won't do any good."

"It's true that we're not strong enough, but cousin Xiao Yun, with your high talent, I believe you can beat those senior students."

Xiao Yun was speechless when he heard Xiao Hu say that. "Although I am talented, I am young. What's the use of you believing in me? I don't even believe in myself."

Good heavens, he's only seven years old and his cultivation level is only one star of Dou Zhe. Those senior students have all been cultivating at Canaan Academy for at least a year, and most of them have a cultivation level of one star of Dou Zhe or higher. If he goes over there to show off now, he'll probably get beaten up.

Hearing Xiao Yun say this, Xiao Hu lost his temper. Even the number one genius of the Xiao family was willing to stand outside in the sun, so what else could he say?

Fortunately, it didn't take long before upperclassmen inside the tents informed the new students that they could go in.

Upon hearing the announcement, the new students were overjoyed. They quickly got up from the ground, dusted themselves off, and headed into their tents.

Xiao Yun also pulled Xiao Long and Xiao Hu into the tent. Although he didn't say anything, he was really hot.

"Haha, it seems I've really received a monster this time."

I was wondering if you'd just come straight into this tent, but I didn't expect you to stay outside until now. You're incredibly talented, and you remain humble and composed. Excellent, excellent.

As soon as Xiao Yun entered the tent, he saw a burly man staring at him as if he were a treasure. The students around him all called him Instructor Xu Ning.

"Hello, mentor..." Seeing that he was staring at her, Xiao Yun couldn't pretend not to see him, so she nodded and greeted him politely.

"Not bad, not bad, quite polite. Wait a moment, I'll record your talent level." Xu Ning was very satisfied with Xiao Yun. Even a simple polite greeting was considered a great advantage of a genius.

It must be said that although Canaan Academy's method of tempering the new students' spirits was a bit excessive, it did have some effect.

At least the freshmen, who were drenched in sweat from the scorching sun, were noticeably less arrogant than when they first arrived. They all huddled in the shade of the tents, and there were no incidents of them arguing with their instructors.

Once everyone had arrived, Instructor Xu Ning took out a sheepskin scroll and writing materials from his storage ring.

"Congratulations, students, on entering the gates of Canaan College."

However, before that, I need to know each of your true ages and cultivation levels, and classify your talent levels according to the potential values ​​set by the academy.

"Eight-stage Battle Qi, with a potential value of F-level, is the minimum standard for joining Canaan Academy."

The ninth level of Dou Qi has a potential value of E-level.

A one-star Dou Zhe has a potential value of D-level, a two-star Dou Zhe has a potential value of C-level, and so on, with the highest level being a five-star Dou Zhe, with a potential value of S-level! Of course, all these cultivation levels apply to those under the age of eighteen.

"The academy hasn't received any students with S-rank potential in a long time. I have a feeling that one of you will become an S-rank student!"

After Xu Ning finished speaking, he looked at Xiao Yun. It was obvious that the S-level he was referring to was Xiao Yun. Sometimes age is a huge advantage. Xiao Yun was so young to pass the test, so becoming an S-level potential was almost a certainty.

"Alright, now all of you line up in one row, and each of you, from left to right, state your age and cultivation level," Xu Ning shouted as he stood in front of the crowd.

"Wang Lin, age eighteen, ninth level of Dou Qi." A thin young man at the head of the left row, his face flushed, excitedly shouted out his age and cultivation level.

Xu Ning smiled and nodded, quickly noting down the student's information with his right hand: "E-level, keep up the good work."

"Lin Shan, age seventeen, has reached the eighth level of Dou Qi."

"Rank F"

"Black Stone, age eighteen, ninth level of Dou Qi."

"Level E"

……

Most of the new students who passed the test were at a cultivation level below that of a Fighter.

Of course, there must be quite a few newcomers among them who were originally at the ninth level of Dou Qi cultivation, but were downgraded to the eighth level of Dou Qi after failing to break through to Dou Zhe.

Soon it will be Xiao Yun's turn. Before him, the best he could do was only a one-star Dou Zhe with a D-level potential value. The Xiao brothers, Xiao Long and Xiao Hu, have also finished their tests and both have an E-level potential value.

Xiao Yun had no intention of hiding his strength. He knew that the better he performed at Canaan Academy, the more resources he would receive, so there was no need to conceal his abilities.

"Xiao Yun, age: seven, cultivation level: one-star Dou Zhe." As Xiao Yun finished speaking, everyone in the tent who heard it involuntarily opened their mouths wide and gasped.

Xu Ning was overjoyed and almost tore the brush in his hand in half. He originally thought that Xiao Yun was only at the ninth level of Dou Qi and would have to wait until he entered Canaan Academy to break through to Dou Zhe.

Unexpectedly, he had already broken through and stabilized at the One-Star Dou Zhe level. Xu Ning lowered his head and stared at Xiao Yun with even more intense eyes than before.

He really struck gold this time. Xiao Yun is such a genius, he will definitely be rewarded when he returns to the academy.

"Good, good, good! A seven-year-old fighter with S-level potential!" Xu Ning grinned from ear to ear.

Once everyone's information had been collected, Professor Xu Ning asked everyone to go home and enjoy some last moments of leisure, and say a proper goodbye to their families.

Three days later, everyone will gather here again, and then Canaan Academy's exclusive magical beasts will come to pick them up and take them to Canaan Academy.

(End of this chapter)