Chapter Ninety-Two: Teaching at the Immortal Academy

Several days passed in a blur, and at last, the Azure Cloud Immortal Academy opened its doors.

Inside the academy, in the most ancient and imposing blue-stone hall, over a hundred meditation cushions were laid out. A few incense burners released a fragrance that cleared the mind and sharpened the senses, their smoke curling gently through the air.

Within the vast hall, hundreds of feet wide, more than a hundred city lord trainees were already seated cross-legged, gathered in small groups, whispering quietly among themselves.

Almost all these city lord trainees were scions of the noble families of Azure Cloud Immortal City; many knew one another and had their own circles.

"Zheng Yiqing, that brocade-clad youth surnamed Lou!"

Ye Mo entered the hall, his gaze sweeping across the room, and immediately spotted two familiar figures. He paused for a moment, then quickly regained his composure and found an empty cushion to sit alone.

As a commoner cultivator, he could not blend in with those family youths.

"How is this possible? How did he become a city lord trainee?!"

Zheng Yiqing, chatting and laughing with several trainees, glanced inadvertently at Ye Mo sitting down, and was so shocked he nearly lost his composure.

His own status as a core trainee had been secured only after several elders of the Zheng family exerted themselves to the utmost, even selling off part of their assets to gather the required thousand spirit stones.

Ye Mo, a lone cultivator without any status or background—how could he possibly afford the spirit stones? It was simply unbelievable!

The mellow sound of bronze bells rang out.

An elderly man with white hair entered the hall and stood at the podium at the front.

All the trainees rose and performed the disciple’s salute. Upon seeing the old man's face, they were surprised—it was the very elder who had overseen their registration.

"I am Kuang Zhen, your instructor for this cohort of city lord trainees. You may address me as Mr. Kuang. Please, be seated."

Kuang Zhen introduced himself briefly, then motioned everyone to sit. He himself sat cross-legged upon a large cushion atop the podium, looking out at the hundred young city lord trainees before him.

"To be a qualified city lord is no easy task."

"The city lord is the heart of our Eastern Sea cultivators. Wherever war erupts with the demon clans, the city lord bears the heavy responsibility of leading cultivators in battle against the demons."

"Thus, the most crucial quality for a city lord is the determination to fight the demon clans to the bitter end—century after century, millennium after millennium. No cowardly cultivator can ever become a city lord."

"Beyond that, a city lord must devise a growth strategy for their city, possess strategic vision, arrange defenses suited to the local conditions, and show outstanding leadership in countless areas."

"All of these require knowledge in many fields. Over countless millennia, generations of predecessors have distilled such wisdom into numerous books."

"The books you hold in your hands, made of all manner of rare materials, are the accumulated experience and hard-won insights of elders from different eras. To honor their memory, we have reproduced these ancient texts as faithful copies for your study."

"Before we begin, let me recount a piece of history, starting with the ancient chronicles of the cultivation world—'The Tragedy of the Eastern Sea.'"

Kuang Zhen's voice, infused with magical power, was deep and resonant. His spiritual pressure enveloped the entire hall.

The long history of 'The Tragedy of the Eastern Sea,' forged in the blood of countless human cultivators, told of humanity expanding eastward from the Nine Provinces Continent, waging epic wars against the demon clans across the vast seas.

The hall grew silent; the city lord trainees listened with bated breath, the atmosphere tense.

Most of those present had some knowledge of the ancient history of the human cultivators in the Eastern Sea. Even Ye Mo, as a lone cultivator, had gleaned information from the ancient texts left by Li Zhao.

Kuang Zhen’s knowledge was far richer than anything Ye Mo had encountered.

His lecture lasted a full hour.

From the unprecedented defeat suffered by the Eastern Sea Dao Alliance, to the internal strife and division among the demon clan alliance, and finally to the resurgence of humanity and the rebuilding of immortal cities in the Eastern Sea—

Everyone's mood rose and fell with the tide of this epic conflict. Some cultivators breathed heavily, their eyes reddening, palms sweating, faces tense.

"Our human cultivators established numerous immortal cities across the Eastern Sea archipelago, with thirty-six major cities as the main strongholds. Thus the history of cultivation in the Eastern Sea continued."

"To be born in this era is a blessing for everyone present. Had you lived ten thousand years earlier, you might have faced daily battles with the demon clans."

"Who could say whether you would survive, or for how long? There would be no opportunity to sit in a grand hall like this and receive my instruction."

At last, Kuang Zhen finished his recounting, lifting the spiritual pressure from the hall.

The trainees relaxed visibly; many took out towels to wipe their sweat, as if they had just survived a fierce battle.

Ye Mo, too, was stirred by emotion, taking several deep breaths to steady himself.

"Now, let me explain the abilities a city lord must possess. Leadership, the construction of the immortal city, and development strategy—these are the three fundamental skills."

"As the master of an immortal city, you must deploy your followers wisely, set battle objectives, choose battlegrounds, seize the moment, and direct the entire conflict."

"The immortal city is the foundation of a city lord. Its construction, location, and defenses determine whether it can survive. A city built carelessly, with ruined defenses, can only be conquered by the demon clans."

"The development strategy of the city governs the advancement of the city lord and their followers. How to progress from a village, to a town, to a city, and even a major city—it all depends on the growth strategy set by the city lord."

Kuang Zhen spoke slowly and deliberately.

These topics formed the introductory curriculum for city lord trainees.

He analyzed each in great detail, even producing a magical map of the islands to illustrate his points.

Which islands were suitable for building an immortal village.

How to construct a city.

What kind of followers to recruit.

How to fight in the event of a beast tide.

This lesson lasted the entire day, with only a brief pause at noon, and scarcely any time for rest.

"That concludes today's lesson. The next class will be in half a month, on the fifteenth. I leave you with an assignment: 'The City Lord and Resources.' Use the coming days to study the books and gather materials. Next class, each of you must submit a written analysis."

As dusk fell, Kuang Zhen rose, set the assignment, and ended the session.

Once Kuang Zhen departed, the trainees finally relaxed.

These noble youths disliked restraint, and had little interest in the classroom. But with Kuang Zhen’s spiritual pressure enveloping the hall, they dared not even breathe loudly, obediently listening to the lecture.

"Brothers, let’s go to the Immortal Leisure Tower! My treat tonight!"

"That old Kuang was far too long-winded—sitting all day nearly suffocated me. Come on, let’s go have some fun!"

The hall erupted in lively chatter as the city lord trainees rose, heading out in groups, excitedly debating where to gather for entertainment.

Ye Mo remained seated, savoring the day’s lesson.

The city lord curriculum was sparse—only two days of classes per month, with the rest for self-study.

However, the academy offered other courses.

There were lectures on cultivation, principles of artifact refinement, and alchemical theory. These were not exclusive to city lord trainees, but intended to assist all students.

Of course, city lord trainees could attend these auxiliary courses as well.

The only difference was that auxiliary trainees were limited to the courses chosen at admission, while city lord trainees were free to attend any class they desired, without restriction.

...

By day, Ye Mo attended lectures at the academy; by night, he researched materials and composed his analysis on 'The City Lord and Resources.'

Suddenly, a major event caused a stir throughout the academy, especially among the auxiliary trainees.

Azure Cloud Immortal Academy posted its evaluation list of this cohort’s city lord candidates, ranking all city lord trainees. The assessment took into account their family background, wealth, number and ability of followers, and growth potential.

The auxiliary cultivators immediately brightened their eyes, focusing closely on the top ten city lord trainees.

For them, choosing a city lord to follow was a crucial decision—they naturally sought the most promising candidate.

If they followed a hopeless city lord, their own prospects would dim as well.

Many cultivators came to the academy as auxiliary trainees in hopes of finding an outstanding city lord and becoming their trusted confidant.

At the top of the city lord potential ranking was Lou Jiejun. Lou Jiejun’s father was a golden core cultivator and the master of an immortal city. Among this year’s hundred-plus city lord trainees, the Lou family boasted the strongest power.

Second place was Bai Xijun, also from a cultivation family specializing in alchemy—a leading clan of Azure Cloud Immortal City. Their family also had golden core cultivators, though not as wealthy as the Lou family.

Third was Ren Haiping, another scion of a great family...

All those at the top of the list were children of prominent clans, their strength formidable.

Out of more than a hundred city lord trainees, Ye Mo was ranked near the bottom—a rare commoner and lone cultivator, second to last.

The lowest ranked was the son of a town-level city lord. It was said that the town’s immortal city was deeply in debt and on the verge of collapse. That family had apparently offended some powerful faction. The son had been sent to the academy as a backup plan, hence his rock-bottom ranking.

Zheng Yiqing ranked in the nineties—not much higher than Ye Mo, his background similarly weak compared to the others.

The publication of the city lord potential list sparked heated debate throughout the academy.

This ranking was not only an assessment of more than a hundred city lord-level cultivators, but also the main reference for a thousand auxiliary trainees choosing which city lord to follow.

As the list was issued by Azure Cloud Immortal Academy, which had full knowledge of the trainees’ backgrounds, it carried great authority and was unlikely to be mistaken.

Ye Mo, ranked second to last, was unable to attract any auxiliary trainees.

He could only smile wryly.

Over the next ten days, Ye Mo observed that the atmosphere in the academy grew markedly intense, even somewhat explosive.

The highly ranked city lord trainees began to attract crowds of auxiliary cultivators. Even among the city lord trainees, competition erupted for the most capable auxiliaries.

Some of the lower-ranked city lord trainees, seeing the list and accepting their fate, chose to join the retinue of a powerful city lord trainee.

Only then did Ye Mo realize the true purpose behind the academy’s city lord potential list.

The academy was encouraging fierce competition among the trainees to select the very best ten.

After all, though over a hundred had registered as city lord trainees, only ten would ultimately graduate with a city lord’s decree. The vast majority would be eliminated in the intense competition, forced to serve one of the top ten city lords or become part of the loose cultivator factions.

Understanding this, Ye Mo could only smile bitterly.

Azure Cloud Immortal Academy was indeed shrewd—a simple measure had ignited fierce rivalry among more than a hundred city lord trainees and a thousand auxiliary students, a fire that would burn until graduation, when the final outcome would be revealed.