Yin & Yang Pleasures of Cultivation

"So many types of varying aspiring youths here...this is going to be a good time." Aniela commented while observing various eager looking youths ahead of her and Darcel.

From following the map directions, Darcel and Aniela had eventually come upon the new students testing area. This area held various different cultivation shops or miscellaneous shops on the side of this road.

Businesses were blooming here as youths and older people wearing specific uniforms were going in and out of these shops. Moreover, the Qi in the air felt purer and far more potent in this section of the city.

Just regularly cultivating here would be slightly faster than doing it in the Necropolis Woods.

Up ahead beyond all other shops, was the endlessly expansive Zakira Academy. The line the duo was on led to a sizable courtyard area where several professional middle-aged adults were overseeing the youths.

Darcel and Aniela were at the tail end of what they assume was the testing line.

They didn't try to draw any attention to themselves, yet passing mocking glances from the other youths still came their way. Mainly due to their shabby clothes and extremely low level caused some disdain.

After all, every youth taking this test was born from a somewhat decent background. And the majority were above the early order of the Qi Formation Sea realm.

To all eyes passing on them, Darcel and Aniela were nothing but country bumpkins trying to gain a swan dish. Although no one even bothered to mess with the duo since it wasn't worth their time.

Darcel and Aniela however, took all of this with stride. Getting looked down upon didn't bother them much, and Aniela did find these youths intriguing.

Intriguing as how much hope they put into this academy.

"Frankly, I'm surprised there are this many kids here. From your description of the test, it looks like you have to be at least above average." Casually replying, Darcel wasn't all that impressed with what he saw so far.

Just the mere fact that he and Aniela can surpass these kids in a few days with sufficient resources gave Darcel engraved confidence. But there were a few in the line that did somewhat capture his attention.

Up in the front, Darcel could sense youths with similar auras comparable to Anim of the Wrathful Clan. And with his clearer Spirit Sense now, Darcel was sure they were at least at the peak prowess of Qi Formation Sea.

"I would've thought the same, but our generation haves hopes and dreams that could spur their own wills." Aniela carefully took notice of every youth ahead of them.

And despite noting them, she also didn't feel threatened by any of them. Though she was a bit more open-minded than Darcel, seeing if there could be someone decent here.

At a moderate pace, the line moved forward.

The duo observed as youths in intervals of fifteen were taken by either some middle-aged man or woman. Every man or woman wore this sleek dark purple uniform that exudes a noble presence.

Plus, the youths there were dressed to impress, all wearing decent clothing there. Every group was lead into a specific large building inside the Zakira academy.

And before leaving, there was one sharp-looking man who identifies each youths making sure they're at the Qi Formation Sea Realm. It did tell the duo trying to sneak your way into the academy won't work at all.

Soon it was finally Darcel and Aniela's turn. They were a bit tune out from the outside world as they talked to each other until they heard,

"The next fifteen come up!"

The stern voice of the sharp-looking man slithered into their ears. Taking a closer look at the surroundings, the duo notice Zakira academy was far bigger up close. Even down to the courtyard, they would go into.

There was no end in sight for the mass interconnected buildings. And the courtyard size was enough to fit at least dozens of people at the same time.

Just from first impressions, it wasn't a wonder why people would want to go here.

Taking a look behind them, Darcel saw more youths turn up and waited in line to take the tests. And like the rest, they also held utmost confidence in themselves.

Glancing back to the front, he and Aniela walked with the rest of thirteen youths into the vast courtyard. This place was lovely and stunning, having vibrant and colorful plants and trees run about here.

"It feels like stepping into a new world..."

"Like this place is nature itself!"

Among all the other youths' murmurs, they all stopped when the sharp-looking man appeared before them. Instantly the group all felt a suppressing powerful energy that lightly pressed their bodies.

The sharp-looking man held a neutral, almost bored expression as he scanned the youths. That is until his eyes landed on Darcel and Aniela in the back of the group.

His eyebrows quirked a bit, seeing their appearances and realms. Not only were they the poorest looking here, but they also were the weakest. Just merely at the early order of the Qi Formation Sea?

The man almost disregarded their existence entirely. Yet there was this odd feeling he got from the duo. It was a strange sinking feeling...like a premonition for something big to happen.

But he quickly wrote off the feeling once he got done scanning them all.

"Instructor Lei, you can take this group."

And from the man's words, a tall but slightly overweight man walked towards their group. He looked a bit more approachable than the sharp-looking man and held a kind smile.

Also, like the others, he wore a sleek dark purple uniform.

"So these are the new batches? Not a bad group. Alright, follow me!" As Instructor Lei spoke, the sharp-looking man was already walking back to the courtyard entrance.

"Phew...that guy was intense."

"No kidding, I felt like I was being preyed on by a wild beast!"

"It is a prestigious academy after all…"

Numerous murmurs like this slithered out of the group as Instructor Lei led them down to one of the many Zakira academy buildings. Glancing back at the murmuring kids, Instructor Lei held a slight smirk.

"Don't worry about Teacher Reade, he's just a bit anti-social." Telling them in small reassurance, the group had then walked into the great Zakira academy.

And everyone's senses and eyes were in awe!

Immediately the fresh new youths there felt the purest and potent Qi ever. It was far greater than what they felt from outside.

As for the designs, everything was still in a bluish-purple color, just like the outside. Though somehow, this place seemed even more expansive than it did from the outside!

There were numerous wide hallways, all leading down to different long pathways. Each hall had either several doors lined up on the sides or stairs that lead to a different part of the academy.

If you didn't know your way around this place, it would be too easy to get lost. Looking at the other present students and teachers walking here, they all though seemed to know they're way around this place.

A curious thing Darcel and Aniela did note was how the students' and teachers' uniforms here differ compared to the instructors. Here they all wore a light blue sleek uniform.

"Ah, before we continue, I must ask this now. Who's here for the Martial Cultivation written test? Just raise your hand if you are." Instructor Lei surveyed the youths who all immediately reacted.

With determined glints in their eyes, thirteen of the youths swiftly raised their hands. Seeing and feeling this academy's inner working ignited their will even further to pass the tests and become students here!

Darcel and Aniela however, were curious about this portion of this test. Slowly they rose their hands, and Aniela had to ask,

"Excuse me, but if you don't mind me asking. What is the other test?"

When talking, Aniela willed some of her soul powers in her voice. She didn't want to deal with anything troublesome and just wanted her question answered.

All eyes turned on the duo, and their ears listened to a soft, soothing voice. Still, no one held a good opinion about the two though, with Aniela soft voice, it caused Instructor Lei to answer just to get it over with.

"That would be the Mages Written-test child. Rarely would we get young mages though...in any case, since you're all Martial Cultivators come with me."

Walking off again, the youths followed behind Instructor Lei. Darcel and Aniela saw people in small pairs talking to each other, presumably already being friends before coming here.

"Hell, did you notice those two while we were walking? They might be...no they are the weakest ones here. Only in early order? A bit laughable."

"Tsk, tsk! Great, these kids are definitely going to hold us up during the written test."

Even if they were speaking a bit low, Darcel and Aniela could still hear the whole group baseless gossip.

However, Darcel's face still remained serene while Aniela had a calming sweet smile.

"It's amazing how many ignorant people we can come across in one day. At least now, blind eyes will get open, right, Aniela?"

"I hear no lies coming from you, Darcy. In fact, it'll be an eye-opener for me to see how far ignorance go!"

The duo spoke in not so low tones causing everyone to hear they're indirect jabs at them. Promptly the other youths and even Instructor Lei gained an ever sourer opinion of the duo.

Suddenly, Darcel and Aniela felt a slight crushing aura on them. This aura had surpassed any late order Spirit Monster!

"Ignorance talking about ignorance... that's a good one!"

Up in front, a handsome looking young man brashly spoke up. He caused the rest group to break in small hearty chatters while his eyes only took one glance back at the duo.

Against this admittedly strong aura, Darcel and Aniela held no change in reactions. Their walking speed was still even and steady along with their faces gaining mocking smiles.

"Delusional people…"

"How sad��"

"And just who is delusional?" The handsome boy held some annoyance in his voice as he tried to increase his aura more on the duo. There was rising tension between the duo and the other youths.

Until Instructor Lei put a stop towards it, saying, "That's enough now. We've made it to the testing room."

Immediately the other thirteen youths took their attention off from Darcel and Aniela. They would soon fail anyway, so why bother with them?

Their thoughts now were on this fancy testing room.

It was spacious and neatly designed. There were numerous desks with chairs, and fifteen had a single white paper and writing utensils next to them.

Without a need for direction, the group all took the seats that had the test on them.

"You will have an hour to complete this test. Begin!"

Promptly when Instructor Lei called it, everyone got to work. Aniela sat right behind Darcel, and those two were off to the side of everyone else.

And up in front, Instructor Lei's eyes were like a hawk. He was accurately scanning everyone, and with his Spirit Sense, he could make sure there was no cheating here.

Focusing on his test, Darcel understood why that map mentioned the test is challenging. For anyone who only had a basic knowledge of cultivation, this test would seem like an alien language.

There question Darcel was even sure gone out of the scope of knowledge for Qi Formation Sea cultivators. Moreover, some questions required a profound understanding of Qi.

And if one struggles with the mental blocks with cultivation, they would be basically be doomed for half of the test.

To all these complex questions, Darcel only cracked a smirk simultaneously with Aniela.

'Once again that damned Organization is proving to be helpful…'

Both of them thought and picked up their pens, starting this easy test...

….

Only about ten minutes have passed since the start of the test, and Instructor Lei was somewhat impressed by this group.

Typically everyone in the group would have confused severe expressions when taking this test.

Those kinds of faces would already tell Instructor Lei that nearly all of them would fail, and maybe one would have some amount of experience and barely pass.

But out of this group, the handsome young man and one small cute looking girl seemed to know what they were doing. Their faces held no confusion, and they calmly went through the test.

The rest of the eleven were the usual struggling. And then there were Darcel and Aniela. As soon as those two picked up their pens, they didn't stop writing at all.

He found their actions a bit ludicrous since he didn't believe someone at their level could have many experiences.

But then Instructor Lei had heard,

"Instructor Lei, I'm finished. Can I bring up the test now?" Darcel said right when he dropped his pen.

"Ah! I'm done too!" Aniela cheerfully told while cracking her knuckles.

The other thirteen youths' heads had immediately snapped over to the duo. What kind of bullshit they're spouting now?! Merely ten minutes pass, and there's no way in hell those two could finish in such little time!

Instructor Lei had even wrinkled his eyebrows, but this wasn't against the rules.

"Alright, come up, and I'll grade it now."

With confident strides, Darcel and Aniela walked up to Instructor Lei, handing him their papers.

Snapping his finger, Instructor Lei made the papers float as he brought out his pen to grade the two. Being at Instructor Lei level, it really only takes these instructors only a minute or two to grade these papers.

Having tremendous experience, knowledge, and wisdom really helped in moments like these.

Initially, Instructor Lei was expecting just terribly wrong answers. Rarely in their academy's history had there been a youth that could complete the written portion in only ten minutes.

Each question on the test required long and hard thought, along with well written in-depth answers. This just wasn't possible unless...you're a genius!

And when starting the grading process Instructor Lei was stunned. Swiftly his eyes went over their answer over and over again just for their first question.

And their knowledge couldn't just be simply learned…

Continuing down their papers, Instructor Lei nearly falters again and again. The apparent shock on Instructor Lei's face did cause the other thirteen youths to look mockingly at the duo.

They only thought Instructor Lei was so stunned at how terrible their answers were.

But after a full minute of Instructor Lei's face only getting more profound, an odd thought crept into their minds.

It was then Instructor Lei's next words caused himself and the thirteen youths to freeze.

"Both of you pass...with perfect marks…"