3: The Five Academies and the Five Guilds

Chu Yixing was about to check the attributes of the five novice pieces of equipment when a sudden clamor erupted outside the lounge.

Chu Yixing and several other classmates looked out from the lounge's French windows.

Chu Yixing immediately spotted Sun Haoqing on the Awakening Platform of No. 2 Middle School. A line of text appeared on the light screen above the class-changing crystal in front of him:

"[Class: Swordsman] (Hidden)"

Chu Yixing curled his lips. 'What a persistent nuisance, even his class is sword-related.'

In the plaza below, Sun Haoqing had already placed his hand on the talent awakening stone nearby. The talent awakening stone flickered a few times, emitting a three-colored light, indicating an SS-grade talent.

Sun Haoqing withdrew his hand, and as if sensing something, he looked up towards the lounge, a challenging glint in his eyes.

Chu Yixing merely pursed his lips, ignoring him. He walked straight to his seat and continued to study the attributes of the novice equipment.

"[novice iron sword] (White)"

"Weapon: Longsword"

"Attribute: Physical Attack +20"

"Equipment Requirement: None"

"[Novice Cloth Hat] (White)"

"Armor: Helmet"

"Attribute: HP +50"

"Equipment Requirement: None"

"[Novice Cloth Robe] (White)"

"Armor: Cloth Armor"

"Attribute: Physical Defense +10"

"Magic Defense +10"

"Equipment Requirement: None"

"[Novice Trousers] (White)"

"Armor: Leggings"

"Attribute: Physical Defense +10"

"Magic Defense +10"

"Equipment Requirement: None"

"[Novice Cloth Shoes] (White)"

"Shoes: Cloth Shoes"

"Attribute: Speed +10"

"Equipment Requirement: None"

In this world, equipment quality is divided into White, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Gold, and Rainbow, corresponding to the seven grades: Common, Excellent, Fine, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythical. Among them, Mythical equipment is unique.

The five pieces given in the novice gift box were all the lowest-grade white common equipment. Chu Yixing put on all four pieces of equipment except the novice iron sword, and his attributes became:

"HP: 150/150"

"Energy: 100/100"

"Physical Attack: 10"

"Magic Attack: 10"

"Physical Defense: 20"

"Magic Defense: 20"

"Speed: 20"

Everything else remained unchanged. Chu Yixing looked at the other panels, finding nothing special, then turned his gaze to the lifebound sword embryo in the first slot of his inventory.

Just as Chu Yixing was about to figure out how to fuse it with the novice iron sword, a commotion broke out at the lounge entrance, and Sun Haoqing and two classmates walked in one after another.

When Sun Haoqing entered, a classmate in the lounge was about to stand up and greet him, but was pulled back by another student beside him, who also glanced at Chu Yixing.

Chu Yixing felt a bit speechless; it seemed everyone knew about the conflict between him and Sun Haoqing.

Upon seeing this, Sun Haoqing's face instantly darkened. He strode to Chu Yixing's front:

"Chu Yixing, don't get too smug. Dual Uniques doesn't mean you're the strongest. I also have a hidden class and an SS-grade talent; I'm not inferior to you!"

"I heard you're some 'Sword Immortal.' We both use swords, so let's see!"

Chu Yixing looked at Sun Haoqing with an expression as if he were looking at an idiot, saying nothing.

Sun Haoqing's face grew even uglier. He walked to the opposite corner from Chu Yixing and sat down... Time passed little by little, and during this period, seven or eight more students successively came in. Everyone also got to know each other and added each other as friends.

Finally, the awakening ceremony was completely over. At this time, there were a total of 17 students in the lounge, all of whom possessed hidden classes or S-grade talents or higher.

Out of tens of thousands of high school seniors in the entire Jiangling City, only 17 awakened a hidden class or an S-grade talent or higher, and Dual Uniques had never appeared before, only twice in the Imperial Capital and Magic Capital respectively.

Mayor Qin, the principals of various schools, and other bigwigs successively entered the lounge.

Mayor Qin stood at the front and began:

"All of you students are geniuses who have awakened a hidden class or an S-grade talent or higher, and among you, there is even one with Dual Uniques."

"For such a long time just now, everyone should have gotten to know each other, right?"

The students nodded. Mayor Qin continued:

"Then, let's talk about matters related to the college entrance examination. I won't dwell on what everyone already knows. Now, let's discuss what you don't know."

The college entrance examination in this world takes place in the Trial Tower Instance, ranked by cleared floors, clear time, and overall ranking.

There is still one month until the college entrance examination, and this month is crucial for leveling up, practicing skills, and collecting equipment.

The principal paused, then continued:

"As everyone knows, the college entrance examination determines school placement based on scores and rankings from the Trial Tower. However, some classes are late-game classes, developing even slower than common classes in the early stages. What I'm about to discuss concerns the hidden mechanism of the college entrance examination for these classes—class compatibility."

"After the leaderboard opens at Level 10 for the first class advancement, students ranked in the top 1000 on this year's potential list, if they have awakened a late-game class, can apply to the school for a class compatibility exam difficulty adjustment. Therefore, in the coming month, late-game classes must find a way to reach Level 10 and complete their first class advancement!"

"Don't think that reaching Level 10 and completing the first class advancement is easy. The difficulty of the first class advancement quest fluctuates based on the class and talent level. The rarer the class and the higher the talent, the harder the quest."

Whoosh—

Everyone collectively looked at the Dual Uniques present—Chu Yixing. Chu Yixing awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

Mayor Qin smiled at the scene, then proceeded to introduce the bigwigs behind him: the presidents of the Jiangling City branches of various guilds and the admissions officers of the four major academies.

The four major academies are named after divine beasts: Azure Dragon Academy, White Tiger Academy, Vermilion Bird Academy, and Black Tortoise Academy. The five nationally recognized guilds are the Jinyang Guild, Cui Zhu Guild, Clear Spring Guild, Chiyan Guild, and Giant Rock Guild, corresponding to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

After Mayor Qin finished his introduction, he said to the students:

"Everyone must be wondering why, despite there being five top academies, only the admissions officers from the four major academies are here."

"Qilin Academy possesses a vast amount of resources, but it recruits less than 100 students each year. Its admission requirements are extremely stringent, only accepting students who are in the top 100 of both the college entrance examination results list and the potential list. Note, this means being in the top 100 on both lists!"

As soon as Mayor Qin finished speaking, the students below collectively gasped, and then their gazes focused on Chu Yixing. Chu Yixing had a very good chance of making a push for it; he would definitely rank in the top three on the potential list, it just depended on his college entrance examination ranking.

After Mayor Qin finished, he handed the stage over to the university admissions teachers and the representatives of the various guilds in Jiangling City.

Everyone uniformly looked at Chu Yixing first. The admissions teacher from Azure Dragon Academy among the four major academies spoke first:

"Student Chu Yixing, I know your talent. You can aim for Qilin Academy. I won't talk about special recruitment here, but just remember, the doors of Azure Dragon Academy are always open for you!"

"The same goes for White Tiger Academy."

"The same goes for Vermilion Bird Academy."

"The same goes for Black Tortoise Academy."

Chu Yixing, overwhelmed, nodded repeatedly:

"Thank you, teachers."

The admissions teachers from the four major academies then left Chu Yixing and went to their respective preferred special recruitment targets.

---

New author, new book. Welcome everyone to point out errors and offer suggestions. This is my first time writing a book, please be gentle with criticism. Also, please collect and recommend!

I am looking for supporting characters and villains. You can send me their names and background information privately.

I also welcome any ideas, suggestions, or inspiration!