12: Chapter 12: You Only Have Six Months

July 1st, the summer vacation for ordinary people, was the start of the new semester for the Alliance Academy.

Throughout the entire Tianhe System, the population was countless; as the overlord, the Tianhe Galaxy Alliance Academy possessed terrifying dominance and was known as a Holy Land for cultivation.

Every year, countless people tried to bribe their way in or use the back door, fighting tooth and nail to enter, but the screening remained extremely strict.

Here, the basic requirement was a C-rank ability; they, along with B-rank Ability Users, made up the majority of the academy's student body.

Generally, A-ranks could enter directly without an exam; most of those who stayed were elites among the students, the main pillars of combat power.

As for S-ranks, it wasn't the academy choosing them, but them choosing the academy; they belonged to an entirely different level of discussion.

Chen Xing was the only S-rank student of this intake and a Gold-medal Special Recruit; his treatment was completely different.

His residence was located in the core area of the academy. The place itself was a treasure land, and after the Alliance's processing and nourishment from various Formations, it had become a natural Holy Land for cultivation.

Cultivating here was much faster than outside, and generally, only elite students could come and go.

On the several-thousand-meter-high Bamboo Forest Peak, a large villa stood on the mountainside.

Dressed in black casual clothes, Chen Xing walked to the edge of the swimming pool and looked down; it truly felt like overlooking all the other mountains from the summit.

He turned his head and asked, "Teacher, you still haven't told me, what exactly are we back here for?"

Leaning against the glass railing, Ye Jianxing said indifferently, "Six months. I'm only giving you half a year. I will lead your cultivation."

"In six months, I'll take you to participate in a competition."

"What?" Chen Xing was stunned.

"What competition?" he asked.

Ye Jianxing took out his phone and sent him some information. "Half a year from now will be the end of the year. Every year at year-end, the academy holds an Exchange Competition with other academies. You will participate as a student from the Element Department."

Different departments in the academy contained different systems.

For example, the Weapon Department included Ability Users with sword, blade, and spear-type abilities, while the Element Department had Light System, Fire System, Shadow System... and so on.

"An Exchange Competition with other academies? There must be many experts gathered there. Can I, a freshman, really go?" Chen Xing hesitated.

"If you couldn't go, I wouldn't have told you to prepare in advance," Ye Jianxing glanced at him.

"This kind of Exchange Competition doesn't look at your seniority; it's just two words—strength. As long as your strength meets the standard, I can apply for you."

"I see. So you're saying you want me, a novice who's only cultivated for six months, to fight against seniors who have been honing themselves for two or three, or even five or six years, right?"

"Correct."

"..."

Chen Xing took a deep breath, speechless. He knew this teacher's trials were outrageous, but he hadn't expected them to be this outrageous.

Ye Jianxing patted his shoulder, said nothing, and turned to leave.

What else could Chen Xing say? He'd just have to work hard. After all, he was the only S-rank student of this intake; he couldn't just wimp out before even taking the field, or where would he hide his face?

Taking out his phone, he chatted with Qin Feng about this matter.

"Ah, you mean that? Not long ago, my teacher also required me to participate in this so-called Exchange Competition. He's really putting the pressure on me," Qin Feng complained.

"Then we'll be able to fight side by side?" Chen Xing chuckled.

"Definitely. I remember the Alliance Academy has Virtual Network Equipment, right? There's a rumor that the battle will take place in the Virtual World, so we can even be teammates," Qin Feng said.

"Oh?" Chen Xing was surprised.

As an S-rank specially recruited student, the academy had also arranged a set of top-level Virtual Network Equipment for him, right there in his room.

This thing was incredible; almost anything could be replicated in it. One could even experience virtual life games—getting married and having children inside felt just like reality, which was immensely fun.

Its best function was that it allowed students to display their talents to their heart's content without worrying about killing their opponents, because you could respawn after dying in the Virtual World.

This equipment was commonly used in major competitions and academy assessments, and it had long since become a necessity for higher-level academies.

"If that's the case, then there's really something to it. Let's practice together later and work on a Combo Skill or something," Chen Xing said.

"Sure, but I'm still out right now. I'll look for you after I get back."

"Alright."

"..."

After hanging up the phone, he found Li Qingyi had already been waiting for a long time.

"Boss, everything has been settled. You can move in with peace of mind," she said.

"Where's the car?" Chen Xing asked.

"In the back mountain."

There was a large cavern in the back mountain with a huge landing field inside, capable of housing many spaceships and trains.

Li Qingyi and the others wouldn't live here, but they were also arranged to stay somewhere in the academy; as long as Chen Xing wanted, they would be available at his beck and call.

"Help me look up which academies are participating in the Exchange Competition six months from now, as well as the experts among them," Chen Xing said.

"I have already prepared it for you." Li Qingyi adjusted her glasses, stepped forward, and held out an Optical Computer to show the data.

She walked to the side, and with a swipe of her slender finger on the screen, she pulled out an even larger screen, projecting it in front of Chen Xing.

"There are four academies participating in the Exchange Competition. Besides us, there's Shengyuan Academy, Zhenyan Academy, and Niliu Academy, which has the most experts."

"Regarding personal data, I have only compiled information on the top individuals for now; the remaining data is still being collected."

Chen Xing nodded. As expected of someone in this profession, her efficiency was high; no wonder those CEOs always had a capable secretary by their side.

"Teacher is having me participate in this level of competition surely just to temper me; he probably doesn't expect me to win the championship..." Chen Xing thought to himself.

"However, I don't need to worry about cultivation resources; I can devote myself entirely to cultivation."

Only after entering the academy did he learn that his authority was very high; he could apply for cultivation resources from the academy three times every month.

The Heaven And Earth Treasures that others spent so much effort to get by completing various tasks for points might not even be as good as a single batch of resources he applied for.

Black-medal Special Recruits like Qin Feng could apply twice a month, while ordinary special recruits could apply once, the same as elite students.

"Boss, your Optical Computer has been installed. If you need anything, please let me know."

"That's all."

"..."

After Li Qingyi left, Chen Xing began to study the Optical Computer.

It was truly Advanced; he had only seen such things in sci-fi movies before. This thing could turn into a small object like a jade pendant or a ring, making it easy to carry.

"And these..." Chen Xing picked up several gold rings and weighed them in his hand.

"Three Spatial Storage Devices. The academy is truly generous. I've finally realized just how high the status of an S-rank is."