Yan Xiaobao was an averagely ranked farr. Currently, he could only rely on his lower Dantian, transforming essence into Qi, but what Teacher Li Yuan saw was actual flas. Flas—which could not be created unless Hui Yue activated his middle Dantian or possessed another skill that mimicked spiritual art skills.
Teacher Li Yuan wasn’t the only one shocked by the profound technique Yan Xiaobao just used. Wang Julong halted his cultivation, his eyes snapping open the mont he sensed the pulse of power. Gazing at the scroll laid out before Yan Xiaobao, Wang Julong quickly deduced that it was the Fla Spark skill, yet he noticed Xu Yue had already absorbed the flas—an energy that Wang Julong hadn’t perceived before. This power far outmatched any Qi Power he was capable of refining.
Wang Julong gritted his teeth, glaring at Yan Xiaobao, worried that the young boy beside him was gaining the upper hand. He closed his eyes again, retreating into his ditative stance, refining his Qi bit by bit.
Yan Xiaobao took note of Wang Julong’s actions. Though he disliked the other boy, he had to admit that he had severely underestimated him during their first encounter. Despite Wang Julong’s arrogant strides as a young master, it was clear he was a hardworking boy striving to achieve his ambitions. Even if Yan Xiaobao didn’t care for him, he couldn’t deny the effort behind his achievents.
"Teacher," Yan Xiaobao stood up awkwardly, a note of regret in his voice, "I deeply apologize for interrupting your lecture. I was experinting with a martial art skill I found yesterday in the Martial Arts Skills Hall. As I approached mastering the technique, I was pulled away. I regret not paying attention to your lecture in the interim."
Upon hearing this, Teacher Li Yuan couldn’t help but snort. Yan Xiaobao had ignored his words all day, but faced with such an apology, he had no choice but to nod in acknowledgnt and accept it. Instead, he quickly resud his lecture.
"As everyone knows, tomorrow is the day for dicine distribution," Teacher Li Yuan began, and the classroom instantly plunged into silence as students held their breath to capture his words. "Although the day is nad Pill Distribution Day, you will not receive the dicine tablets until nightfall. When the full moon rises to cast away the last rays of daylight, the pills shall be distributed. To qualify for the pills, students must enter ditation and cultivate from midday onwards until the tablets are handed out."
Several students were stunned upon hearing this news, as they’d never encountered such specific requirents before, but Yan Xiaobao slowly nodded. A half-day of cultivation wasn’t difficult, especially if a pill was his reward—sothing Yan Xiaobao unquestionably aid to secure.
"During your cultivation, you must place your student badge in front of you. The badge will record the amount of Qi you manage to refine, and the higher the quantity, the greater the quality of the pill you will receive."
Hearing Teacher Li Yuan’s instructions, Yan Xiaobao couldn’t help but squint his eyes. Refining large amounts of Qi was a positive thing, but so students would likely rush their cultivation, resulting in low-quality Qi and making breakthroughs difficult in the later stages.
"That outco might be expected," Lan Feng interjected, sensing Yan Xiaobao’s sudden alertness. "The Royal Family does use these academies to scout geniuses, but if their ambitions skew too strongly toward cultivating prodigies, it could pose a threat to them."
Hui Yue understood the reasoning and nodded in agreent. "Even if their Qi quality suffers, they can rely on Qi Refining techniques to breach the middle Dantian’s limits. While experts in the middle Dantian Region are formidable, when compared to the true specialists among advanced alchemists, they’re still lacking."
"I suspect most cultivators in this class will eventually beco soldiers," Lan Feng sighed. "They’ll be eternally grateful to the Royal Family for offering them such opportunities."
Yan Xiaobao decided not to dwell on the matter. Ultimately, whether the Royal Family aid to foster true greatness or diocrity among their talents wasn’t his concern. Instead, he felt a surge of excitent thinking about the Fla Spark Skill he was currently practicing.
Teacher Li Yuan closed the class soon after finishing his explanation of Pill Distribution Day. He stayed in the room until every student had left. Once alone, he allowed himself to sink into his chair, slowly retrieving his badge with trembling hands and replaying the recording of Yan Xiaobao’s Fla Spark Skill demonstration.
Whatever Teacher Li Yuan thought of this technique, it was undoubtedly a spiritual art mimicry, as the flas resembled genuine fire. Yet, it was a skill he had never encountered before. Judging by Yan Xiaobao’s expression, it seed to be a technique he had only recently discovered.
Li Yuan sent the recording to other faculty mbers, hoping they could provide insight into the martial art technique he’d witnessed.
After dispatching the recording, Li Yuan began investigating which skills Yan Xiaobao had selected from the Martial Arts Skills Hall. Even upon reviewing the records, he found only low-ranked skills—none capable of creating such fearso flas.
The recordings rapidly circulated throughout the academy. Initially, people had labeled Yan Xiaobao as a talented but mysterious figure. Now, their intrigue deepened. A librarian identified the hand seals as belonging to the Fla Spark Skill, and the mory Stone indeed had recorded it among the skills Yan Xiaobao acquired from the hall.
Instructors imdiately clamored for copies of the Fla Spark Skill, but as it was an unpopular technique, the academy had only a few copies available—most of them snapped up almost instantly. Yet, from a technical perspective, none of the teachers could comprehend how such a modest fla could evolve into what they saw in Li Yuan’s recording.
In the administrative building of the academy, an elderly man sat behind a desk piled high with books and scrolls. His white hair and long beard revealed an extended lifespan. He was the president of the Royal Art Academy and had personally handed Yan Xiaobao his badge on the first day of enrolnt.
When the president initially encountered Yan Xiaobao, he hadn’t paid much attention to the seemingly ordinary white-haired boy. He’d rely ushered him out without a second thought. Watching Li Yuan’s recording for the first ti didn’t disturb him greatly either—it was rare for a student to master advanced martial arts skills, but not so rare as to warrant personal concern.
This ti, however, was different. The president imdiately identified the skill as Fire Spark—a low-level non-combatant student skill. He was familiar with its ranking and capabilities and was certain of the extent of its potential.
Yet, this technique had undeniably evolved. It was evident that Yan Xiaobao was the one who had advanced it. He had added two additional hand seals, seamlessly integrating them into the existing sequence ant for Fire Spark. These seals unleashed a source of power within Yan Xiaobao that shouldn’t exist within a cultivator of his rank, let alone a ten-year-old child.
Examining his own badge, which was higher-grade than those of the instructors, the president noted that all such badges were derived from mory Stones but had been altered by ultimate experts within the Royal Family. These badges had varying functions, but students and teachers were only aware of a fraction of their capabilities.
The combination of the badge with the Qi Symbol allowed it to record the cultivation levels and the Qi qualities of its owner. Only the Royal Family insignia could observe cultivation levels and Qi traits, a feature the president had just utilized. Upon seeing the results, the president gently set the mory Stone down, sinking deep into thought about his next steps. The boy was full of surprises.
The president once more raised his Royal Badge, placing it against his forehead, activating another Royal Family feature to contact the sub-chairman within the academy. Although their contact wasn’t via spoken words, the president transmitted his mories and knowledge through the Royal Family’s thods, allowing the sub-chairman to form opinions about the prodigious child. For now, the president’s only course of action was to continue observation.
Another function of the teacher and Royal badges was the imdiate logging of the activities of any student’s badge. However, if the badge was stored in a pocket or bag, this function beca worthless.
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