The Royal Academy—its status as a student held some usefulness for Ye Luo, so he naturally wouldn’t give it up easily.

When arriving at the Royal Academy, Ye Luo truly realized its immense power for the first time!

The bustling crowd—it had to be no less than tens of thousands of people!

Moreover, these people, without exception, could be considered strong individuals!

One must understand that the Royal Academy was renowned for accepting only geniuses and nobles. If the Demon Clan were capable and came to the Royal Academy now, wiping out everyone here would undoubtedly cause enormous harm to the Great Tang Empire, leaving it unable to recover for decades!

Of course, such a significant day was given great importance by both the Royal Academy and the Emperor of Great Tang. At this moment, the Royal Academy was heavily guarded, making it impossible for the Demon Clan—no matter how powerful—to infiltrate!

However, today Ye Luo noticed something peculiar, as everyone’s faces seemed filled with excitement and their discussions ran rampant. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Brother Yun, what’s going on? Judging by the reactions of these people, something seems to have happened!"

Ye Luo asked Yun Liancheng with curiosity. But Yun Liancheng had been following Ye Luo around for the past few days—if Ye Luo didn’t know, how could Yun Liancheng possibly know?

"My lord, I’ll go find out now."

After speaking, Yun Liancheng walked ahead, approached someone he knew, asked a few questions, and then returned to Ye Luo’s side.

"My lord, it seems that something monumental will indeed occur today!"

"What do you mean?"

Ye Luo asked curiously. A monumental event? What kind of event?

"My lord, the Academy announced yesterday that today a family from the Eighth Region—one that shares a close alliance with our Great Tang Empire—will choose three disciples from the Royal Academy to accompany them to the Eighth Region. Additionally, the rankings on the Battle Power Leaderboard have been revealed, and the top hundred ranked disciples of the Academy will compete for these coveted slots!"

The Eighth Region!

So that’s what it is!

The Martial Realm’s regions are like vast chasms, difficult to cross. Though Ye Luo didn’t understand exactly why, this was indeed the case. At least, even though Ye Luo had been in the Martial Realm for some time, within the Great Tang Empire, he had only ever heard rumors about the Eighth Region and had never truly encountered someone from there. This confirmed there must be some force preventing individuals from higher-tier regions from entering lower-tier ones. And if they did come, their numbers were undoubtedly scarce!

Under these circumstances, it was no wonder the people of the Great Tang Empire would be deeply curious about the Eighth Region.

...

"By the way, my lord, the Academy has adjusted the ranking rules for this occasion. Now, regardless of identity—even if you’re completely unknown—if you believe you have the strength, you can challenge those listed on the Battle Power Leaderboard. If you defeat them, you can claim their spot!"

Ye Luo nodded, though he didn’t pay much attention to it. This had nothing to do with him. Whatever the selection method was, Ye Luo wasn’t preparing to head to the Eighth Region anytime soon.

"Dong!"

"Dong!"

"Dong!"

Three resounding sounds of an ancient bell echoed, followed by the descent of a figure into the sky.

Almost everyone instinctively turned to look, for they knew that the Open Day event had officially begun!

...

A cold and powerful middle-aged man stood aloof in mid-air, overlooking the countless students beneath him.

He seemed to be observing something—or perhaps searching for something.

After a moment’s glance, he opened his mouth and said calmly, "I won’t waste words with you. Today is our Royal Academy’s Open Day, but today differs from previous years. Perhaps you have already heard some news. Yes, today three of the most promising students will embark on a new Chapter in their lives. Experts from the Eighth Region will secretly observe your performance, and whether you can earn a slot will depend solely on your strength."

"Of course, for those who fail to be selected, do not be discouraged. I have good news for you—this year, the mist surrounding the Cloud Open Sanctuary will be at its thinnest in the last two hundred years. Thus, you will have more opportunities for reward. But don’t get cocky, as there’s a caveat. Due to certain special reasons, only three hundred people will be granted access to the Cloud Open Sanctuary this year. Whether you qualify depends entirely on your consistent dedication!"

"Alright, let’s cut to the chase. Now we proceed to the first stage: the Eighth Region slot competition! Battle Power Leaderboard, activate!"

With the middle-aged man’s command, a brilliant light-screen descended from the sky, displaying name after name—and these names were still shifting.

Some people’s ranks were dropping, while others were climbing up.

The reopening of the Battle Power Leaderboard marked the assessment of everyone’s cultivation achievements over the last five years!

Perhaps it could be viewed as a final term exam, though this Battle Power Leaderboard assessment offered opportunities to only one hundred individuals!

"Hmm, something seems off!"

Suddenly, someone stared at the Battle Power Leaderboard with obvious confusion.

A companion beside them asked curiously, "What’s odd?"

"Look at this! Some names on the list are ones we’ve never seen before!"

The Battle Power Leaderboard encompassed the Academy in its entirety. So, typically, whenever the rankings were updated, the majority of names would already be familiar to everyone. Burgeoning dark horses weren’t unheard of, but such individuals had usually gained considerable renown within the Academy before making it onto the leaderboard.

For unfamiliar names to suddenly appear on the Battle Power Leaderboard, there could only be one explanation.

These were individuals who had joined the Academy temporarily upon receiving insider news—and undoubtedly hailed from prominent noble families!

Such occurrences weren’t unprecedented, but they’d never happened at the Royal Academy. In other academies, especially provincial ones, it was common for powerful nobles to use their status to maneuver their offspring into schools during opportune moments to reap benefits.

The Martial Realm contained various Secret Realms and other unique existences, and academies typically maintained exclusive or joint access to them. Thus, whenever Secret Realms opened, noble families often sought to secure positions.

However, the Royal Academy was untouched by such practices, as it was managed by the Imperial Family. Within the Academy, princes, princesses, and commandery princesses abounded.

So who could possibly possess the power to threaten their positions?

This time, however, the sudden appearance of unfamiliar individuals in the rankings indicated one probable cause—the Emperor had given tacit approval!

Perhaps it was to ensure those three slots were irrevocably secured.

After all, even if these individuals came from a family allied with the Great Tang Empire within the Eighth Region, they undoubtedly wouldn’t accept taking useless trash back with them.