He let that sit for a mont before continuing. "The Regional Academy Entrance Examination is not a tournant. It is not a test of who has the best equipnt, the most impressive class rank, or the loudest na. It is a asure of sothing far more difficult to manufacture." He clasped his hands behind his back. "Survivability. Adaptability. The capacity to grow under pressure that does not care about your background or your potential or what instructors have said about you in evaluation reports."
The hall was so quiet that the distant sound of wind against the high windows was audible. Principal Zhou’s voice carried without effort. "Every junior hunter in this city dreams of this exam. Most of them will never stand in the hall you will stand in tomorrow. Not because they lacked talent, but because talent alone does not get you to Celestial City." He looked across the rows of students. "Preparation does. Commitnt does. The refusal to treat your own ceiling as fixed."
Wang Hao leaned slightly toward Lin Yi and murmured, barely above breath, "He’s good at this."
Lin Yi said nothing. He was listening.
Principal Zhou continued. "The five Regional Academies are not simply better versions of what you have here. They are different categories entirely. The training they provide, the hunters they produce, the expeditions they send their students on, none of it resembles what frontier city academies can offer. To enter one is to step into a world where the standard for ordinary is already extraordinary." He paused briefly. "Which ans that if you go in thinking the skills that earned you recognition here are enough to carry you there, you will be corrected quickly."
Several students shifted in their seats. Principal Zhou’s tone hadn’t changed, but the words were landing with different weights for different people.
"I say this not to discourage you," he said, "but to ensure that those of you who qualify understand what they are walking toward. The examination is demanding by design. Celestial City does not accept students who are almost ready. It accepts students who are ready and who are willing to beco sothing more." He looked out across the hall one final ti. "Train for what cos after the gate, not just for the gate itself."
A mont of silence followed. Then he straightened slightly. "Those who intend to participate in the Regional Examination will register before the end of today. A list will be posted at the main administrative office. Transportation to Celestial City departs tomorrow morning at six, from the academy’s east gate. If your na is on the registration list and you are not at that gate before departure, the academy cannot arrange alternative transport." A slight pause. "Be on ti."
...
After all that, students spilled out of the grand hall, so talking loudly about registering imdiately, others moving in quieter pairs with the particular look of people doing ntal calculations about whether their current level was enough to make the attempt worth it.
Lin Yi and Wang Hao moved with the current toward the courtyard. Wang Hao was quiet for a mont, which for him ant sothing was turning over in his head. Then he said, "He didn’t sugarcoat it."
"No."
"I appreciate that." Wang Hao tucked his hands into his pockets. "Hate when they make things sound easier than they are just to keep morale up." He glanced at Lin Yi sideways. "Though I notice your morale requires no managent whatsoever."
"Are you registering?" Lin Yi asked.
"Obviously." Wang Hao said it without hesitation. "I might not make it through. I’m aware of that. But I’m not going to stand at the east gate tomorrow and watch a bus leave without ." He shook his head. "That I could not live with."
"Good."
Wang Hao glanced at him. "That’s it? Just good?"
"What else do you want to say?"
"I don’t know. Sothing motivational." Wang Hao sighed dramatically. "You’re the tournant champion. You’re supposed to inspire people."
"Train harder than you think you need to," Lin Yi said. "And register before the list closes."
Wang Hao considered this. "That’s surprisingly practical."
"You’re welco."
They had crossed most of the courtyard when a familiar voice ca from their left. "Lin Yi." Su Qinghan fell into step beside them with the unhurried ease of soone who had been moving in this direction for a mont already. She carried her usual composure, though there was sothing slightly more alert in her expression than her resting default. "I saw you leaving the hall."
"We saved you a dramatic exit," Wang Hao said. "You’re welco."
Su Qinghan looked at him briefly. Then to Lin Yi. "Are you registering today?"
"Yes."
She nodded once. "I expected so." A short pause. "Celestial City is considerably larger than anything we’ve operated in before. The exam format differs from what most students here are used to. The wilderness sectors they use for assessnt don’t resemble the hunting grounds around Jianghe." She said it plainly, sharing information rather than expressing concern. "It would be careless to go in without adjusting expectations."
"Are you nervous?" Wang Hao asked, looking genuinely curious rather than teasing.
Su Qinghan considered the question seriously. "No. But I am being careful about the difference between confidence and complacency."
Wang Hao pointed at her. "That’s exactly what I’d say if I were nervous and didn’t want to admit it."
"Then perhaps you understand the distinction better than you’re suggesting."
Wang Hao opened his mouth, then closed it. "...Fair."
Lin Yi watched the exchange briefly before speaking. "The format is different. The scale is different." His tone was unhurried. "But the principle is the sa. Enter strong. Adapt faster than your opponents. Don’t stop moving forward."
Su Qinghan looked at him. Sothing in her expression settled slightly, a small adjustnt that might have been agreent. "You make it sound uncomplicated."
"The idea is simple," Lin Yi said. "The execution is the hard part."
Wang Hao pointed at him. "That. That is motivational. See? You can do it when you try."
Lin Yi did not acknowledge this.
The administrative office ca into view ahead, already with a line forming at the registration desk, students from various years and classes waiting to add their nas to the departure list. The east gate. Tomorrow morning at six. Celestial City.
Wang Hao exhaled once, looking at the line. "Alright." He squared his shoulders slightly. "Let’s go make it official."
The three of them joined the line. Around them, the academy continued its ordinary motion, students training, instructors moving between buildings, the sounds of combat practice drifting in from the arena grounds. Ordinary in every way.
But tomorrow, ordinary would be left behind at the gate.
And what ca next would be sothing else entirely.
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