Sage Monarch - Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Some time passed, and then the freshman student returned, letter in hand .

“You’re Yang Qi, right? Come with me . For the most part, you already have your place as a student here . However, you still need to do a test to check your energy arts and cultivation base . ”

“Okay . ” All of a sudden, it felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders . This entire time, he had worried that there might be some holdup because of internal matters in the institute . But now, everything seemed to be going smoothly . And considering the level of his cultivation base, he shouldn’t have any problem fitting in .

Thus, he followed the freshman student into the entrance .

This was merely a building set aside to accept new students into the Demi-Immortal Institute; it had dozens of floors, and was constructed with bricks of white jade . Everything was carved with exquisite texts and images depicting various martial disciplines, sword stances, aphorisms and proverbs . It simply pulsed with a sensation of knowledge and power .

Yang Qi went through various hallways that twisted and turned through the building, and climbed higher and higher, until they were on the eighteenth floor . Eventually, they reached a room filled with wooden bookcases, all of which were apparently crafted from expensive sandalwood .

In the middle of the hall was a middle-aged man, standing there reading a book . From this high vantage point, the scenery was beautiful, with a clear view of the plains and the rivers beyond the institute .

A tremor passed through Yang Qi as he sensed that this man was a Master of Energy . His true energy was mighty to the extreme; he was clearly many times more powerful than Yang Zhan with the airmastery plant .

Up to now, Yang Qi had always assumed that the most powerful experts in the Master of Energy level would only be a bit stronger than his father .

But now he could see that he had truly been a frog in a well, his eyes obscured by a single leaf .

If one split the Master of Energy phase up into three overall levels, then Yang Zhan and people like him would be at the lowest level .

It didn’t take Yang Qi long to reconcile himself to this fact, though . After all, the world was a large place, and if a freakish hellion like himself could rise up, why couldn’t other freakish hellions exist in other places?

This was the Demi-Immortal Institute, the number one most domineering organization in all the lands; it only made sense for it to abound with remarkable things .

The freshman student immediately bowed to the middle-aged man and then said, “Sect Uncle Chu, I've brought a new student here with an introduction letter . ”

“Very well . You wait outside . ”

The man waved his hand, sending the book in his hand flying off to a nearby shelf .  

“So, young man, your name is Yang Qi . Is that right?”

“Yes . ”

Yang Qi was doing his best to keep his cultivation base completely under cover, leaving only the true energy of the Invincible King’s Fist flowing through him . Everything else was hidden away in his sea of energy, and would appear as little more than a speck of nothing to anyone who looked at it .

That was a function of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth . It could take true energy and turn it into a speck of nothing, then turn that speck into a megamammoth, all in the blink of an eye .

“You’re in the eighth phase . Not bad . And you just turned eighteen? If you can become a Master of Energy before twenty, your aptitude will be considered toward the top . Of course, Yanhaven is a small place . Presumably something miraculous happened to you?”

The man looked at Yang Qi with shining eyes, and was instantly able to tell ‘everything about him’ .

“Wow, Professor Chu, you have sharp eyes . Yes, I was struck by lightning a while back, which made my meridians stronger, and advanced my cultivation significantly . ”

“Oh? Struck by lightning, but didn’t die?” With another wave of his hand, he sent a stream of true energy into Yang Qi’s meridians .

Yang Qi plastered a look of surprise onto his face . However, he had already disguised his meridians to reveal only about ten percent of their full level .

The man’s true energy was as nimble as a fish, and almost seemed intelligent as it went through him . After coursing through his meridians a few times, it came to rest at his sea of energy for a bit before leaving .

“Strong meridians,” the man said . “And a good fleshly body . What energy arts and martial disciplines did you study? Why don’t you do a little demonstration?”

“Yes sir,” Yang Qi said . He quickly went through the forms of the Invincible King’s Fist, summoning the six arms of true energy to accompany him . Each move he did was better than the last; overall, it was a very impressive performance .

The man instantly recognized what he was looking at . “The Invincible King’s Fist . It’s too bad you haven’t been cultivating the full discipline . That’s a royal-class energy art with nine forms, but you only have six of them . I would guess that our Demi-Immortal Institute’s Scripture Pavilion probably has the full set . You just need to perform some meritorious service for the institute and you’ll be able to get your hands on it . Very well, that’s enough . You can go get your uniform now . You’re a freshman student, so from here on out, you will only go up in the world . Understand?”

“Freshman student?” Yang Qi replied, a bit stunned . He had originally assumed that he would come in with a higher rank .

“What . Not happy?” Apparently, the man could tell what Yang Qi was thinking . “Everyone here starts out as a freshman student . The only way to rise in the ranks is to perform meritorious service, get stronger, and learn more . Now go . The Elder Brother outside will take you to the place where you can clean up and change into your uniform . You’ll also be assigned a residence . Leave a record of your name at the admissions desk, and remember that you could be called in for assessment at any time . ”

“Yes sir,” Yang Qi replied . Originally, he had assumed that he would be able to see his aunt right away, and possibly even Yun Hailan or Song Haishan . But now, he was coming to realize that in the Demi-Immortal Institute, rank and status were extremely important .

He needed to spend some time getting used to all the new rules and situations . Right now, he was too much in the dark .

At the moment, he didn’t even dare to cast his true energy out to get a sense of his surroundings . There were just too many powerful auras, and if they caught on to him, they would definitely try to figure out who he was .

Back outside, the freshman student he had met earlier was waiting there, looking a bit bored . Upon seeing him emerge, he said, “Well, Junior Brother, congratulations on becoming a member of the Demi-Immortal Institute . From here on out, you’re one of the top dogs in the Rich-Lush Continent!”

“Thanks so much!” Yang Qi replied . “I hope you’ll look out for me, Elder Brother . Might I ask your honored surname and distinguished given name? And please accept a little gift to establish our friendship . ”

Smiling, he handed him a banknote worth one hundred thousand energy convergence pills .

That was no small number .

The freshman student nodded knowingly . “Of course, I'm happy to help out, Junior Brother . My name’s Li He . Pleasure to meet you . Alright, come with me, we need to get your uniform and identity plaque . Then you’ll officially be a student of our institute . ” [1]

With that, Li He led him down into the institute itself . Majestic pavilions and kiosks could be seen everywhere . Compared to this, the city magistrate’s mansion in Yanhaven was like an ant colony .

As he walked along, Yang Qi almost felt like he was in paradise . At one point, he said, “Since I only just arrived, Elder Brother Li, I don’t really understand how the sect works . Could you give me a quick rundown so that I don’t make any mistakes right off the bat?”

“Ah, that's easy . We're the lowest ranked students in the Demi-Immortal Institute: the freshmen . Above us are the outer campus students, and then the inner campus students . After that are the elite students, and then the conclave students . Anyone who goes past the conclave student level is called a holy neophyte . ” The envy in Li He’s voice was clear . “Ai . Those people are legends . I've been in the Demi-Immortal Institute for eight years, and I’ve never even seen one of them . ”

“What?” Yang Qi said, shocked . “You’ve been here for eight years and still haven’t been promoted? Is it really that hard to get into the Outer Campus?”

“It’s indeed hard,” Li He said bitterly . “Very hard… . Unless you’re a genius who constantly advances by leaps and bounds, you have to do it the slow way . According to the rules of the institution, you have to have performed plenty of meritorious services, and cultivated your energy arts all the way to the ninth phase . Then, if you pass the test, you can become an outer campus student . ”

“What?” Yang Qi said, stunned . “Only Masters of Energy can join the Outer Campus? What about the inner campus students? How strong are they?”

“Most of the inner campus students are Masters of Energy, too . However, they’re all the best of the best . For example, that professor who just gave you the test is one . As for the elite students, they're all past the Master of Energy level, and are Lifeseizers . ”

Considering the gift Yang Qi had given him, Li He was giving a very detailed explanation of everything .

“Junior Brother, if you want to rise through the ranks, you either need to hand in a lot of merit points, or advance your cultivation dramatically . If you can pass the Master of Energy level, and seize life from heaven, the institute will promote you to elite student level . It’s sort of a shortcut, and in fact, the easiest way to get promoted . ” Li He chuckled bitterly . “I'm still in the eighth phase, and unable to become a Master of Energy . Most of the freshman students are like me, stuck in the seventh or eighth phases . ”

“I guess that's to be expected from the Demi-Immortal Institute… . ” Yang Qi shook his head . Back in Yanhaven, people in the seventh or eighth phase were clan lords . Here, they were freshmen . ‘At least I’ll finally be able to get a look at a Lifeseizer . I wonder how strong they are?’

Before long, Li He and Yang Qi arrived at a room, inside of which was a bed, a desk, and various other necessities of life . It was actually very spacious .

“This is your room . Over there is your uniform . Put that on, and you’re an official student of the Demi-Immortal Institute . As for your daily tasks, you’ll be informed of that later . Whatever you do, don’t ever offend any of the important people among the freshman students . If you do, you’ll have a very hard time getting along . ” With that, Li He waited outside for Yang Qi to get changed .

The uniform consisted of an exquisite white robe made of snow silk, which would keep one warm in the winter and cool in the summer . Back in Yanhaven, a robe like this would have been considered a treasure .

There was also a jade pendant which was carved with the words: Demi-Immortal .

Upon stepping out of his room, Yang Qi smoothed his robes, looked at Li He, and said, “By the way, Elder Brother Li, do you know a girl around here named Yun Hailan?”

1 . Li He: Li is an extremely common surname that also means “plum” . He means “crane” . Incidentally, the He rhymes with “duh” not “bee”