Two months later.
The final batch of new students for the year arrived at Lien Academy to register.
Ye Shaohua stood in front of the grand, ancient-looking gates, dressed in a sleek, form-fitting outfit. Above the gates, four imposing characters were inscribed: Lien Academy.
[Host, there’s been a disturbance in your previous world. Someone forcibly broke into this space, and I need to fix the breach. If anything happens, call for me in your mind.] 008 hurriedly said before going offline.
Ye Shaohua stood still for a moment, then muttered to herself, “There’s such a thing?”
“Hello, are you here to register too?” A blond-haired boy noticed Ye Shaohua and his eyes lit up. “I’m Nolan from the Oren Empire, also a new student this year.”
Ye Shaohua glanced at him briefly. “Ye Shaohua.”
Her aloofness didn’t dampen the boy’s enthusiasm at all. “The system at Lien Academy is brutal. I tried to delay coming for half a month, but I couldn’t avoid it. I heard there’s a monster among this year’s new students, someone with S-rank spiritual power.”
Nolan sighed with admiration.
Today was the last day for new student registration. Ye Shaohua had thought she’d be the only one arriving so late, but to her surprise, there were eleven others who had also come at the last minute.
“All new students, please follow me for a spiritual power recheck,” said the gatekeeper, an elderly man with a kind expression.
To prevent imposters, the academy required all new students to undergo a spiritual power recheck upon enrollment.
—
Inside Lien Academy’s Magic Tower.
Ye Jin stepped out, looking up at the black tower’s peak. On the magic array above, her glowing name had changed from 455—Ye Jin to 399—Ye Jin!
“In just two months, you’ve climbed from 488th to 399th. You’re already on par with most second-year students,” Gu Hong said, looking at Ye Jin. “You’ve far surpassed the other new students.”
Back when he first enrolled, it had taken him a full year to climb from 488th to 300th, and another year to break into the top 200.
Ye Jin’s face shone with pride, but then she suddenly remembered something. “Gu Hong, isn’t today the last day for new student registration?”
That meant Ye Shaohua should be arriving soon.
She couldn’t wait to see the look on Ye Shaohua’s face when she saw the name 399—Ye Jin.
In the original book, it had taken Ye Shaohua half a year to climb from around 500th to within the top 400.
But Ye Jin was different. Thanks to her foreknowledge of the book, she knew the loopholes in the Xu Yuan Mystic Codex and where to find rare treasures. Her progress was even faster than Ye Shaohua’s in the book.
“Yeah,” Gu Hong frowned slightly. “I don’t know why your family’s Ye Shaohua hasn’t shown up yet. Does she think Lien Academy is like her home? Forget about her. Let’s head to the training grounds.”
Ye Jin thought the same. Ye Shaohua was no longer a threat to her. Just seeing the name 399 would be enough to intimidate her.
—
Meanwhile, at the new student registration area.
“This is Lien Academy’s famous Magic Tower,” Nolan pointed to the glowing golden names floating above the magic array, whispering to Ye Shaohua. “These are the names of everyone at Lien Academy.”
Not just Ye Shaohua, but the other ten new students were also in awe as they looked up.
1—Feng Liyun. This name hung high above all the others.
2—Aileen.
3—Lin Xiao.
…
There were 488 names in total, with the names becoming smaller and harder to read as they went down the list.
The registration teacher waited for them to finish looking before smiling and saying, “This is the ranking of our Magic Tower. The tower provides a clear hierarchy of strength. You are all geniuses of Lien Academy. After your recheck, your names will be placed from 489th to 500th. Work hard to climb the ranks, and you’ll gain better training opportunities. Some may even be taken as disciples by the dean. Do you see the name ranked first? Even the few remaining Saint Magus on the Magic Continent are fighting to take him as their disciple.”
“This year, we have a dark horse who arrived early—Ye Jin. She climbed from 488th to 455th, and just now, she reached 399th. She’s already on par with students who’ve been here for a year. You all should strive to match her.”
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, all the new students’ eyes burned with determination as they stared at the names on the Magic Tower.
“These young ones,” the teacher chuckled. “Once they enter the Magic Tower, they’ll realize how difficult it is to climb the ranks.”
After a moment, he said, “Alright, future powerhouses, let’s begin the recheck.”
—
Nolan was two places ahead of Ye Shaohua in line.
“Nolan, 17 years old, A-rank spiritual power. Wind-element apprentice mage, Thunder-element (first-tier mage.” The elderly man reading the results looked at Nolan in surprise.
Not just him, but everyone else also stared at Nolan in shock.
A-rank spiritual power was already rare, but he was also a dual-element mage!
Ye Shaohua also glanced at Nolan in surprise. He was the first dual-element mage she’d ever seen.
Nolan, however, remained calm as he returned to Ye Shaohua’s side, muttering, “What’s so strange about that? I thought my talent was good, but there’s a monster among the new students with S-rank spiritual power. I bet she’s on par with Aileen, ranked second. Aileen’s from the Mage Guild. That Ye Jin must be the S-rank one. She’ll definitely be in the top ten soon.”
Ye Shaohua listened but didn’t respond.
Nolan was used to her aloofnes, but he didn’t mind. There was something calming about her presence, and even if she was distant, he still enjoyed being around her.
“It’s your turn,” Nolan said, noticing the teacher calling Ye Shaohua’s name. He patted her shoulder.
As he watched her walk up, he thought to himself that her spiritual power probably wasn’t as high as his. After all, there was only one S-rank among the new students—Ye Jin. She couldn’t be S-rank.
“Ye Shaohua, right?” The teacher looked at the documents in his hand and glanced at her. “Please place your hand on the crystal ball and focus your spiritual power.”
In his mind, he thought, Another S-rank monster for the academy.
Ye Shaohua calmly placed her hand on the crystal ball.
S-rank spiritual power had levels.
When the old man had tested her before, he’d only seen S-rank because the magic array couldn’t detect anything higher.
He didn’t know that Ye Shaohua wasn’t just S-rank—she was 3S-rank.
The moment her hand touched the crystal ball, a blinding white light erupted.