Chapter Thirty-Two: The Arrival

When they reached the city gates, everyone dismounted from their mammoth beasts. Large beasts were not permitted to roam the streets of the city. After all, the streets of Tianyang City couldn’t possibly be paved with refined iron! If a mammoth beast set foot on the streets, it would leave behind a crater with every step.

Tianyang City was home to over ten million people, accounting for a full tenth of the population of Tianyang Province. And Tianyang Province wasn’t even one of the most prosperous regions. In those provinces where commerce flourished, a single provincial capital might contain forty or fifty million inhabitants! As for the imperial capital, its population soared into the hundreds of millions. The total population of the empire was so large, it could make you weep.

Here, almost everyone was dressed impeccably. Along the way, not a single beggar could be seen. Whether merchants, commoners, or cultivators, everyone spoke with refinement and treated others with courtesy. Compared to Flame Town, the difference was like heaven and earth.

Chen Bo and his group didn’t attract much attention; in Tianyang Province, students of Tianyang Academy were nothing rare. If you threw a brick in the city center, nine times out of ten you’d hit someone from Tianyang Academy.

This street led directly to Tianyang Academy, but it was still a long way from the city center. With no mounts now, they had to rest first and set out again the following day.

The next day, Chen Bo barely slept. Yu Shifei was in the room next to his, and the whole night he kept his eyes glued to the door. At the slightest sound, he would shout for help, giving Yu Shifei no chance to make a move.

After a few more days, the group of eleven finally arrived at Tianyang Academy.

To call it an academy was almost a misnomer—for it was truly a city within a city.

Inside, aside from the older students in standard Tianyang Academy uniforms, there were new students clad in all manner of clothing.

The older students wore a look of calm detachment, while the new arrivals, most untested by adversity, walked with their noses in the air. Especially since they were all prodigies in cultivation, each one looked down on the others.

Some had already formed small cliques here and there.

But there were always those who preferred to stand out alone. Chen Bo and his companions saw a proud, arrogant youth berating an older student, his finger pointed at the senior’s nose.

He bragged about his own strength, declaring how formidable he was and how useless the older students were.

The outcome was predictable. After a brief retort from the older student, the arrogant newcomer struck—and was promptly sent flying more than ten paces by a single kick, a distance of over ten meters.

Did this academy condone open acts of campus violence?

Sensing their confusion, Zhao Qing explained, “At Tianyang Academy, private fights are forbidden—unless it’s an official duel on the arena. But if someone breaks the rules and attacks you, you’re fully entitled to fight back, and you won’t be punished.”

“But if you publicly insult someone and they attack you in anger, then you’ll be punished too. Of course, so will they. And if someone was behind it, pulling the strings, that person will be punished double! The academy rules here may be few, but they are harsh. Kill someone here, and you’ll pay with your life.”

“What if someone denies they were the first to insult the other?” someone asked.

Zhao Qing chuckled. “That’s easy! The Oath Laws of the Wildlands aren’t for show. Just swear an oath, and the truth will be revealed. Of course, to prevent someone from using linguistic traps, Tianyang Academy has hired a great number of scholars.”

Everyone was left speechless. This academy actually used the Laws as a tool—it was truly bizarre.

“Don’t give me that look. This practice became widespread centuries ago. We’re just borrowing it,” Zhao Qing shrugged.

“Now that you’re at Tianyang Academy, you’d best keep a low profile and avoid offending people carelessly. See that girl in blue over there? She may not be much to look at, but her grandfather is a high official in Tianyang Province. With a word, he could suppress your entire family.”

“And that boy over there who looks like a farmer? Don’t be fooled. He’s a local—a farmer’s son who, through a stroke of luck, came across a cultivation manual. Now his strength is at the peak of Flesh Tempering. Soon, he’ll break through to Bone Marrow.”

“And that chubby boy over there, the one who looks like a meatball—his strength is even greater. He’s already at Bone Marrow. His father, though, is an elder of the Divine Elixir Sect, a sect renowned for pill forging. Half his strength comes from medicinal pills.”

“All right, there’s plenty of water in that. A Bone Marrow cultivator like him might not even beat a late-stage Flesh Temperer. But even so, he’s not someone you can afford to provoke. The strongest among you is only at mid-stage Flesh Tempering. Among this year’s freshmen, you’re barely above average.”

Zhao Qing’s warning was heartfelt, and everyone drew in a cold breath. They hadn’t expected so many geniuses here. Even Chen Long, proud as he was, couldn’t help but bow his head.

Only Chen Bo seemed unconcerned. After all, private fights were banned here—what was there to fear? So long as he didn’t leave the academy before he grew stronger, he’d be fine.

Tianyang Academy was so vast—what was there to worry about?

Just then, Yu Shifei and her group were about to leave. As she departed, she fixed Chen Bo with a venomous glare and said, “I am an instructor in the Artificers’ Department, and you are destined to be one of my students. Our paths will cross again—let’s see how things play out!”

The last few words were spoken through gritted teeth. Chen Bo couldn’t help but feel his future would be bleak. To have gravely offended his instructor in the Artificers’ Department—what fate awaited him?

The thought made his skin crawl. Suddenly, even Tianyang Academy didn’t feel entirely safe.

After Yu Shifei left with Yu Xiner, a young instructor suddenly appeared and clapped Zhao Qing on the shoulder. “Brother Zhao, you’re bringing in new students this year? Aren’t instructors only allowed to take on six? How come you’ve got seven here?”

Zhao Qing replied, “This kid’s sister is Chen Jingjing—his real sister, same father and mother.”

“Chen Jingjing’s brother?” The instructor immediately thought of favoritism and looked at Chen Bo with a trace of disdain. He despised those who relied on connections. Yet he was just a low-ranking instructor—what could he do?

“It’s not what you think. His sister is remarkable, and so is he.”

“Oh?” The young instructor’s curiosity replaced his contempt. He studied Chen Bo, but saw nothing unusual—except that his demeanor was far lazier than that of the other energetic newcomers. Could laziness be a sign of talent?

“Heh, this kid is an artificer!”

“What? So that’s it.”