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Lyuzhou was bustling today. The expansion of Jiangnan Academy had touched the hearts of many, drawing people from miles away who had traveled two days in advance from neighboring Provincial Government Offices to witness the event.

While a few were eager to see if their children got admitted, many merchants and families from the gentry class sought to capture high-performing in-laws from the successful candidates!

In the span of two years, the academy had already expanded twice.

Its scale was now larger even than the grand Bailu Academy of Capital City, but the bustling activity today was too much.

Chen Ying had no choice but to call on a large detachment of the Warrior Army to maintain order at the venue.

The crowd was so dense, layer upon layer of people nearly filled the place, leaving many applicants who had passed the exams unable to enter.

They had to use Wind Jade to transport people in from the outside.

On this day, the busy Wei Gongcheng found time to come and help, standing in the shadows with his mask on, silently monitoring the entire scene.

Shen Qi had not been heard from since his trip to Daqing Mountain the day before, and now, unable to leave due to the event, he felt a trace of worry for that lax individual for the first time...

"We will now announce the list of those selected. Because there were two versions of the exam, it’s inconvenient to tally a total ranking, so we will only announce the admission quota for each academy."

Chen Ying stood on the stage, using Wind Technique to ensure her words reached everyone present.

Although surrounded by a large crowd, the place was not noisy or chaotic.

Everyone stared intently, waiting for the announcement and fell into an unexpected silence; even the visiting youth from afar looked startled.

It seemed that the status of Jiangnan Academy had deeply taken root in people’s hearts here in Jiangnan.

The scene was comparable to the announcement of examination results in Capital City.

"This time, Yin Yang Academy has admitted a total of one thousand students, with Heavenly Institute taking one hundred, two hundred for Earth Institute, and three hundred fifty each for Mystic Academy and Huang Academy. Now, let us announce the Heavenly Institute list!"

"Yunke’er!"

At a distance, a young girl of about ten burst into excitement, tightly embracing her mother. Yun Niang, who had regained her senses, also hugged her daughter excitedly, her earlier ruined face under the veil now wet with tears.

Despite having known that her daughter was highly regarded by the authorities, actually being admitted brought a surge of excitement that was undiminished. It was a place that many children from renowned families couldn’t enter, and now her daughter was truly going to lead a different life...

Especially after experiencing the recent calamity, she had lost all desire for a woman to rely on a man. Having one’s own capabilities was superior to anything else. Lord Chen allowed women here to get ahead, and her daughter happened to have some potential; it was perfect!

As mother and daughter celebrated, many prestigious families turned their eyes towards them.

Heavenly Institute’s status among the common folk was not as high as Mystic Academy and Huang Academy, but the noble families knew the high value of Heavenly Institute’s Techniques.

Yunke’er’s numeracy scores were in the top five across Jiangnan, and she was no newcomer with special treatment; her worth was substantial.

Such a girl, if lured into one’s family. ..

Um... judging by her age, she probably isn’t betrothed yet. It would be good to visit later and speak properly.

As more names for Heavenly Institute were announced one by one, numerous prominent families tensed up, some of them visibly relaxed at the mention of a name, while those whose names were not called seemed to have fluctuating expressions.

The Heavenly Institute slots had become a highly contested prize among the great Sorcerer Families of Jiangnan after the emergence of the grand Array in Nanming Prefecture.

Being local nobility, they didn’t have to exchange Techniques like outsiders to learn here; just being admitted meant access to that exquisite Array heritage.

However, the focus of the examination on what was once considered trivial knowledge caught many families off guard.

Moreover, many understood that this year’s expansion might also be the last, and if they failed to get admitted this time, it would be even more challenging in the next.

Thinking of this, the complexions of many unsuccessful youths darkened, and some looked resentfully toward the newly admitted offspring of out-of-town families.

In their view, those outsiders had weak foundations and should’ve lacked competitiveness, yet Chen Qing had opened a back door, allowing slots to be taken away. Without this group of outsiders, many of them who failed might have had the chance to be chosen.

With that thought, their looks became even less friendly!

And the offspring of the Sorcerer Families, feeling the animosity from the Jiangnan families, furrowed their brows.

"Brother Pang, this doesn’t look too good..." A youth from the Li Family said with a smile.

"It’s quite normal..." The man from the Pang Family said indifferently: "We took a shortcut and occupied the slots, it’s natural for those who didn’t pass to vent their frustration on us.

Don’t mind it. Those who spent a whole year adapting and still couldn’t pass are undoubtedly worthless.

Besides, we were already in conflict with those Jiangnan families.

It’s sufficient to form good connections with promising common-folk youths.

Those youths lack solid backing, have good talents, and are the easiest to win over. "

"Brother Pang truly sees clearly..." another youth behind him commented with a nod and a smile.

Among the Sorcerer Family youths, nearly all made it onto the list, but this was to be expected. With vast influence and numerous offspring, the Sorcerer Families always managed to identify talents in varied fields among them. The advantage of having a large base was clear.

Nearby, the leading heir of the Yen Family glanced toward a reserved girl: "Only two from our family were selected. I must return soon. The two of you have done well and haven’t disgraced the family.

After matriculation, don’t become complacent.

Contact the family immediately if you take an interest in any Technique.

Whatever is needed will be coordinated without delay.

Work hard; the family will not let you down! "

"Yes, elder brother!"

The two low-born heirs, a male and a female, blushed with excitement, bowing repeatedly. They had never dreamt that there would come a day when they could turn their fate around, and it looked like the family support was considerable!

From a distance, Shen Xue and the others couldn’t help but sigh to themselves, thinking worthy indeed of a great family the specially nurtured descendants have a breadth of spirit and vision wholly unlike their own dim-witted kin.

"Sis..." Weichi Peng whispered from beside her, "Shen Yutang hasn’t returned yet, and our family members have been quite irritable these past two days. Will they take their anger out on us later?"

Shen Xue furrowed her brows and finally said, "Later, let’s keep our distance from them. According to the rules, descendants of Sorcerer Families who don’t pass the exam must return home within two days. These two days are likely when they’ll be most irritable, so we must endure it!"

"I understand, cousin..."

"Heavenly Institute, Shen Xue!"

At the mention of a name, Shen Yang burst into cheers, "Sis, you did it, you made it!"

A faint smile squeezed onto Shen Xue’s pale face, she was first in mathematics coming from the outside families, but her physics was amongst the worst. She had some worries yesterday, but now she could finally breathe a sigh of relief!

By entering Jiangnan Academy, she would have a chance to turn her life around.

She didn’t aspire to become some exceptionally illustrious figure; she merely hoped for a track where she could work hard.

Once she returned home today, she decided to throw away that peculiar straw man.

From now on, she was determined to take steady steps forward, to distinguish herself, and to bring her little mother to Jiangnan to enjoy a better life!

During her stay in Jiangnan, she had come to understand that the place was not only friendly to magicians but was also a paradise for ordinary folks, with ample food and clothing and an uplifting way of life.

Her little mother, when brought here, would no longer have to demean herself, and moreover, this place had the wondrous Hell System.

She had witnessed with her own eyes how many souls, under the guidance of the so-called Night Traveling God, entered what was called the Hell, where even in death, one could have decades or even over a hundred years of afterlife!

Her little mother was a gentle and kind person, and Chen Ying believed that as long as she brought her here, with her own help, her mother could certainly live well. And a hundred years later, when her time came in the Hell, she was sure to have ample good fortune and afterlife.

Now that she had been admitted to the academy, all she needed to do was to fulfill the marriage agreement with the Bai Family and ask for a concubine from her own Shen Family, which they surely would not deny her.

It would work...

It definitely would work!

As she thought of the good days that were drawing nearer, even the normally composed Shen Xue couldn’t help but show a joyful smile on her face.

However, what she failed to see was that in the shadows, two direct descendants of the Shen Family were watching her, their faces filled with malicious grins.

-------------------------------------------

The entire opening ceremony went exceedingly smoothly, which allowed Wei Gongcheng to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Honestly, he had been quite nervous before.

With Xuu Hu absent, Tian Heng absent, and their lord not around, Lyuzhou City’s highest fighting power had fallen onto his shoulders, burdening him with a heavy responsibility that he had never expected to bear.

After all, whether under Old Master Weichi or Weichi Peng, he had always been a lieutenant, only needing to do his duty.

It was always those chosen ones who shouldered the critical pressure.

He had never imagined that one day he would become one of those people, and he had to admit that it felt a bit surreal.

It also made him feel nervous and at a loss...

His experience with real combat wasn’t strong.

As for how to fight with the power of the Hell System, he had never tried it.

Although Chen Qing had said that his abilities now were not weaker than any Super First Rank magician in Lyuzhou, he still felt somewhat uneasy about what real combat would be like. ..

Watching the opening ceremony draw to a close, Wei Gongcheng’s tense nerves finally relaxed slightly. Just then, the appearance of a figure in the distance eased his remaining tension a great deal.

At the entrance of the academy, dressed in white, Shen Qi finally arrived and from afar, nodded at Chen Ying.

Seeing the newcomer, Chen Ying also let out a great sigh of relief and continued reading out the names.

Wei Gongcheng, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment.

Because from beginning to end, the person hadn’t glanced his way. Could it be he didn’t notice him?

That shouldn’t be right...