73: Chapter 73 Expanding Enrollment in the Top-Tier Class

West of the Capital, Four Seas Academy.

As the top educational institution of the Great Jiang Dynasty, Four Seas Academy only recruits students once every four years.

Each year is divided into two semesters.

Today was the first day of the final semester for this batch of students at the academy.

At the academy gates, it was already packed with people, and the noise was deafening.

There were Martial Artists from humble backgrounds dressed in coarse linen, walking in groups with ambition for the future shining in their eyes.

There were also noble children in lavish clothing, riding tall horses or luxurious carriages, parading through the streets.

The registration point for the Heaven Class was located in the most prominent position of the academy.

At this moment, a massive carriage made entirely of red sandalwood and inlaid with gold trim...

...was approaching steadily along the main road.

Seeing this carriage, the crowd that had been crowding the middle of the road was like mice seeing a cat.

Instantly, centering on the carriage, they scattered to both sides with a rustle, forcibly clearing a wide path.

They were terrified of being a step too late and scratching even a bit of the carriage's paint.

Among the crowd that had moved aside, a burly young man with a buzz cut and a Black Iron Heavy Sword on his back watched the scene with a frown.

He turned to a Young Master in silk robes next to him and asked in confusion:

"Brother Ma, your father is a fourth-rank official of the imperial court, after all. He's considered someone of importance in the Capital."

"Why do you have to avoid a carriage like this? Is there some Prince sitting inside?"

This buzz-cut youth was named Wu Jing, a top student from a humble background in the Earth Class.

The silk-robed Young Master beside him was named Ma Xingkong, whose father was a fourth-rank official belonging to the Prime Minister's faction.

Usually, in the academy, he loved to befriend all sorts of potential experts.

Upon hearing this, Ma Xingkong's expression changed in fear.

He quickly covered Wu Jing's mouth and dragged him back two steps.

"Are you crazy, kid? Keep your voice down!"

Ma Xingkong lowered his voice, his tone full of frustration:

"I told you, don't just focus on secluded Cultivation every day; you've turned your brain into wood."

"You don't have any discernment at all!"

"Open your eyes and look closely at the flag hanging on that carriage!"

"That is the carriage of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion!"

Hearing this, Wu Jing was first stunned, then his eyes widened suddenly.

He pushed away Ma Xingkong's hand from his mouth. Although his voice was low, his tone was full of disbelief:

"The Zhenguo Marquis Mansion?"

"Could it be that person who only knows how to eat, drink, and gamble, and doesn't practice the martial Dao at all?"

"And then last semester, even though the academy hadn't reached its recruitment time, he used his connections..."

"...to forcibly drop in and join the Heaven Class? the Capital's Number One Playboy?"

"Shh! Do you want to die?"

Ma Xingkong hopped around in anxiety, looked around to confirm no one was paying attention, and then sighed in relief.

"You're a Martial Artist from a humble background with no backer. If he hears words like that, you won't even know how you died!"

Hearing this, instead of being afraid, Wu Jing straightened his back.

He glanced at the slowly passing carriage, his eyes showing an undisguised disdain:

"Hmph! What is there to fear?"

"Four Seas Academy is a place where rules are followed!"

"It doesn't matter how great the power behind him is; it only matters how hard one's fists are!"

"I heard that as the noble Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo, he enjoys so many resources..."

"...yet his cultivation is currently only at the Xuanguan Five Apertures!"

"With that kind of strength, if he were in our Earth Class, he would only be at a mediocre level!"

Wu Jing crossed his arms, sneered, and said proudly:

"If we really went to the Martial Arts Stage for a duel, I, Wu Jing, could easily take down a greenhouse-grown waste like him with one hand!"

Looking at Wu Jing's fearless, hotheaded appearance, Ma Xingkong was speechless.

But he truly valued Wu Jing's potential and wanted to recruit him into his father's camp.

Seeing Wu Jing being so outspoken, he feared those words would actually be heard by the 'ancestor' in the carriage and implicate him.

Ma Xingkong quickly grabbed Wu Jing's arm and dragged him away from the entrance of the Heaven Class passage.

Then the two of them hid behind a nearby stone pillar.

Once he was sure the surroundings were safe, Ma Xingkong put away his usual smiling face.

His tone became serious, and he advised earnestly:

"Wu Jing, I know you have great talent and your strength is outstanding in the Earth Class."

"So it's normal to be a bit arrogant."

"But this world isn't just about fighting and killing; it's also about worldly wisdom and social relations!"

"That Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo might be a waste himself, but he was born into the right family!"

"He has guards at the Xuanguan Peak following him at all times!"

"If you provoke him inside the academy, he really can't do anything to you because of the academy rules."

"But don't forget, you'll have to leave the academy one day, right?"

"Once you step out of these gates and they corner you in an alley, what will you do?"

"Can that Black Iron Sword of yours withstand the Protective Aura of a Xuanguan Peak expert?"

"This..."

The disdain on Wu Jing's face instantly froze.

Although he was a martial fanatic, he wasn't truly stupid.

With Ma Xingkong's reminder, he immediately understood the stakes involved.

The lives of Martial Artists from humble backgrounds were indeed worth less than weeds in the eyes of the top nobility.

Wu Jing took a deep breath and put away his previous arrogance.

He bowed respectfully to Ma Xingkong and said gratefully, "Thank you for the guidance, Brother Ma. I almost lost my life."

Ma Xingkong quite enjoyed this attitude.

After calmly accepting the bow, a mysterious smile curled on Ma Xingkong's lips, and he continued in a low voice:

"However..."

"If Brother Wu really can't stand the arrogant attitude of this Heir..."

"...and wants to beat him up fair and square, there is a way."

Wu Jing's eyes brightened suddenly, and he hurriedly leaned in to ask:

"Oh? I know Brother Ma's father is backed by the Prime Minister and is well-informed."

"Is there some inside information?"

Ma Xingkong waved his hand and smiled with feigned profundity:

"It's not really inside information; it's just that you're usually too immersed in Cultivation and don't pay much attention to the academy's news."

"According to the traditions of Four Seas Academy..."

"...every time the final semester of the fourth year begins, the academy's Heaven Class holds an expansion recruitment!"

"It's aimed at selecting the most elite group of students."

"I believe that with Brother Wu's solid strength at the Xuanguan Six Apertures Peak..."

"...you will definitely pass the expansion test and enter the Heaven Class fair and square."

Wu Jing was stunned for a moment, then his brows furrowed slightly.

"Expansion? This rule of the academy is strange. Why expand in the final semester specifically?"

Ma Xingkong explained, "Naturally, it's for the Secret Realm within the academy."

"The Academy Secret Realm only opens once every four years."

"There are countless Heaven And Earth Treasures inside, and even ancient Legacies."

"In this final semester, the internal rankings of the Heaven Class will directly determine the final spots for entering the Secret Realm!"

At this point, Ma Xingkong sneered.

His gaze turned toward the red sandalwood carriage that had already stopped at the entrance of the Heaven Class.

"Otherwise, why do you think that person who only knows how to play and enjoy himself..."

"...the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo, who couldn't even be bothered to show up for the academy's proper recruitment three years ago..."

"...would suddenly transfer into the Heaven Class last semester?"

"It was all to take a spot and snatch a place in the Secret Realm!"

Wu Jing realized the truth.

Then his fists clenched tightly, and the Battle Intent in his eyes burned like something tangible.

"So that's how it is..."