Li Xuan, after causing so much chaos at the tavern, walked down the narrow path that cut through the small village. It was crowded as usual — food vendors shouting, children running around, and a few people who simply liked making noise for no reason.
The path stretched further down toward a huge mansion with its gates closed. Flowers lined both sides of the walkway, making the place look almost like a palace. But it wasn't. It was just another academy in the village — grand, but ordinary to those who lived nearby.
The closed gates meant only one thing: he was late. And if he went back home, that would be counted as absenteeism again. Too many absences and his admission would be cancelled. But who really cared about the poor in a society of the rich?
Even this village only existed because of the academy , a small trading center near a mine, owned by the elites from the higher states.
Li Xuan stopped at the gates, staring at the heavy metal rails. A man leaned lazily against the wall nearby, staring at a flock of birds perched in a tree.
"It's past time. Go home," the man said, not even bothering to look at him.
"Oh, I forgot. This is your rented possession, right? Just a gate," Li Xuan replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
The man clenched his fist against the wall and stepped forward.
"Who do you think you are?"
"You, this isn't your father's school either. Just carry your pride and get out of my sight before I call security," the man bellowed.
Li Xuan casually reached into his pocket, pulled out a coin, and flicked it at his face.
The man's reflexes caught it midair. His expression froze.
"An… emerald coin?" he breathed out, stunned.
He looked at Li Xuan again. The boy didn't look like someone who would casually throw away emerald coins. Only high-class brats did that — and even they were stingy. The exchange rate of one emerald gold coin was nearly fifty gold coins. Li Xuan had only nineteen left — over nine hundred and fifty gold coins in total. Enough to pay his fees and bribe his way through life if he wanted.
He walked into the academy. The outside was quiet, but inside was bustling with activity. Students rarely lingered outside during class hours unless they wanted to listen to the old women drone through boring lectures.
Everyone in the courtyard was dressed like a prince or princess. The only one who looked out of place like a beggar was him. No wonder he hated attending this school full of spoiled brats who slept on beds made of money and probably used the same to wipe themselves clean.
Many students saw him walk in, but none dared to look directly at him, as if he were a fly they couldn't quite swat away.
The only person who seemed remotely concerned was that little darling from the Xiao family , the girl born from a line of elegant nobles. Somehow, their genes had perfectly combined to erase even a trace of fat, producing this beauty.
As usual, he ignored her. No time to waste on elite beauties, let alone join the crowd of fanboys already worshiping her. One of them, Feng Lei, was already glaring at him like he owed him a fortune.
Li Xuan stood quietly at the edge of the raised circular platform, pretending not to notice anything.
Like an unwanted fly, the Xiao girl hopped her way toward him. He straightened his posture, trying to act composed — unaffected. A man who didn't care.
"You've been absent for three days," she said, standing next to him, smiling as if they talked like this every day which they didn't.
"Ready for disciplinary action?"
Li Xuan turned slightly to glance at her. She leaned closer, like she wanted to whisper a secret, grinning with that same charm she always carried.
"Ah, yeah. I'm ready," he said, turning his face away, hoping she'd take the hint and leave.
"What if I could help you?" she said softly. "Maybe talk to the vice principal to reduce your punishment?"
The Xiao family was among the highest of the elites influential even in Mingdu State Soul Academy. She was used to bragging about her family, so this sudden offer to help felt strange, almost like a burden.
"Madam Xiao Fengqi, don't you have anything better to do today?" Li Xuan asked casually.
Xiao Fengqi tilted her head with a faint smile. "Well, we're just waiting for our grades to come out."
Li Xuan blinked. "Grades? What grades?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Really? You've been absent for three days, not a year. At the end of every month, new grades are released and students are reassigned to different classes."
Li Xuan frowned. He had found himself in a new class every few months but had always thought it was some sort of academy ritual — not a real test. If it was based on grades, then how had he kept landing among the talented elites each time?
He sighed. Whatever the reason, he had a bad feeling. And soon, the heavens answered.
A bolt of lightning struck the central pavilion, sending rubble flying in all directions.
"Everyone, the assessment begins!" a booming voice echoed from within the light as a figure stepped out. His hair was gray, streaked with blue at the sides. He wore a white robe marked with a silver clock emblem on his shoulder and another on his wrist.
"We shall begin," the man declared. "Anyone who withstands my palm strike passes the test. But all those whose soul power has reached the peak of King level should step aside. You'll be graded into Class 4H under Doctor Zhao."
The students gasped. That was a rare opportunity to be trained by Doctor Zhao, one of the finest magus in Mingdu State. Those with King-level soul strength immediately moved to a corner, standing proudly. Li Xuan noticed that Xiao Fengqi wasn't among them. That surprised him.
"All those whose soul power has reached Guardian level, step aside," the man continued. "You'll be graded into Class 3H."
Unlike the older King-level students, these ones were barely thirteen. The rest who remained were around twenty-five, and in a class of sixty, the lowest ranks — the so-called "trash" — would be sent to 1H.
The man looked at the remaining twenty-five students and sighed. If half of them were sent to Class 2H, it would still be embarrassing. Those in 1H were considered failures. In a school that worshiped success, that was the lowest disgrace.
"Alright," he said finally, "anyone whose soul power is below Guardian level — go directly to Class 1H."
The remaining students exchanged confused glances. All of them were being thrown into 1H without even a mention of 2H.
"But sir," Xiao Fengqi protested, raising her hand. "You're demoting us all to the beginners' level!"
"Yes, Madam Xiao," he said dryly. "And if you hadn't wasted so much effort in the mechanics department, you'd be in 4H. I'm sure your family will be proud knowing you've spent an entire year accomplishing nothing."
Xiao Fengqi clenched her fists and stomped the ground. "This is unfair! Just wait until I tell—"
"Tell who?" the man interrupted, smirking. "The administration? You've fallen so far, once a prodigy and now reduced to the same level as the rest of these failures."
Her face paled. She knew if her family got involved, it would only make things worse.
"We deserve a chance to prove ourselves," Li Xuan said suddenly, stepping forward. "Our soul power was tested last month. We may have improved."
"Oh?" The man grinned. "So, do you want to test my palm strike?"
Li Xuan nodded.
The man laughed loudly, joined by the elites of Class 4H. To them, it was pure arrogance — a poor fool challenging power he couldn't comprehend.
"Alright then," the man said, stretching out his arm. A glowing palm burst from his hand, expanding into a massive spectral slap that hung in the air, releasing an icy chill across the courtyard.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
Xiao Fengqi shot Li Xuan a glance. She knew it was useless to stop him — he wouldn't listen anyway. If she was arrogant, then he was reckless. Facing a palm strike from such a man was nothing short of suicide.
"This fool," Feng Lei hissed from the sidelines.
Xiao Fengqi and the others stepped back a few meters, giving Li Xuan space to face the attack head-on.
He stomped his foot into the tiled floor, cracking it until the dirt below was exposed. His fists tightened at his sides as he steadied his stance.
"Alright, kid," the man said quietly.