The Stellaris Academy was not merely a school; it was a monument to the arrogance of the mortal realm.
Located in the heart of the Imperial Capital, the academy was a sprawling city-state in its own right. Massive walls of white celestial marble, inscribed with defensive formations strong enough to withstand a bombardment from a Saint Realm expert, encircled a campus that housed over fifty thousand cultivators. Above the main grounds, three massive floating islands hovered in the sky like silent gods, reserved for the Elders, the True Geniuses, and the mysterious Headmaster.
To the average fifteen-year-old standing at the base of the obsidian gates, this sight was awe-inspiring. It was the peak of civilization.
To me, Rudra, the Tenth Sovereign, it looked like a glorified daycare center.
"Big Brother! Look! That carriage is flying without horses!"
Anya, my eight-year-old sister, tugged on my sleeve, her other hand clutching a stick of candied hawthorn she had coerced me into buying five minutes ago. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, her amber eyes wide with genuine wonder.
I patted her head, suppressing a smile. "It's a levitation array, Anya. Grade 3. Inefficient, but flashy."
Behind us, Ria stood like a silver statue. She wore a pristine black-and-white maid uniform that contrasted sharply with the battle armors and silk robes of the other aspiring students. She pulled a massive luggage cart with one hand—a cart filled with Anya's toys, my snacks, and about three tons of heavy metal ore for my 'snacking' needs.
"Master," Ria's cool, metallic voice cut through the noise of the crowd. "Scanning complete. There are approximately 53,400 examinees present. Average cultivation: Qi Condensation Stage 8. Threat level: Negligible."
"Don't get cocky, Ria," I murmured, my eyes scanning the high walls. "The students are trash. The teachers are not. And… I smell rats."
I looked up at the highest tower on the central floating island. I could feel it—a subtle, pervasive scanning formation covering the entire entrance plaza. It wasn't just checking for weapons; it was checking for Fate.
The Order of Providence was watching.
"Make way! Make way for the Western Providence!"
A commotion broke out near the front of the line. A golden carriage, pulled by two Spirit Griffins, descended from the sky, blowing dust and wind onto the waiting students.
The door opened, and a boy stepped out. He was about my age, dressed in robes embroidered with gold thread and the crest of a Roaring Lion. He radiated the aura of someone who had never been told 'no' in his entire life.
"Prince Valerian!" someone in the crowd whispered.
"The Third Prince of the Western Empire? I heard he awakened an S-Rank Lightning Spirit Root!"
"He's a shoo-in for the Core Disciples."
Valerian sneered at the commoners dusting themselves off. He walked straight toward the massive artifact standing in the center of the plaza—the Mirror of Judgment.
It was a towering, ancient mirror framed in obsidian. It was the first test. It didn't lie. It revealed Bone Age, Cultivation Base, and Spirit Root purity.
"Step aside, peasants," Valerian commanded, his bodyguards pushing students out of the way.
He stood before the mirror. The surface rippled like water.
HUMMM.
A blinding golden light erupted from the glass. Bolts of blue lightning crackled across the surface, forming the image of a Thunder Bird.
[Name: Valerian Storm]
[Bone Age: 15]
[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment (Early)]
[Talent: S-Rank (Lightning Variant)]
The proctor, a bored-looking elder with a long beard, actually opened his eyes. "Pass. S-Rank. Proceed to the VIP seating area."
Valerian smirked, basking in the cheers of the crowd. As he walked past the line, his eyes landed on us. Specifically, on Ria.
His eyes lingered on her silver hair and her unearthly beauty. Then he looked at me—wearing simple black robes—and Anya, a child eating candy.
"A maid?" Valerian scoffed loud enough for everyone to hear. "Who brings a maid to the Stellaris Academy? Is this a picnic?"
The crowd laughed.
"And a child?" Valerian shook his head. "Go home, country bumpkins. The playground is down the street."
I didn't respond. I didn't even look at him. I was busy staring at the Mirror of Judgment.
'Ria,' I projected mentally. 'Analysis of the Mirror.'
"It is a Soul-Reflecting Artifact connected to the central formation," Ria replied in my head. "It cross-references the user's soul signature with the Heavenly Database. If it detects a signature that violates the 'Balance'—like an anomaly or a reincarnator—it will alert the administration immediately."
'Just as I thought. A trap.'
If I walked up there and showed my Void Talent, or if Anya showed her Primordial Phoenix soul, the Order of Providence would nuke this city within ten minutes.
"Next! Rudra Ye!" the Proctor called out.
I stepped forward. The whispers started immediately.
"Ye Clan? The fallen clan?"
"He looks handsome, but look at his aura. It's so… empty."
I stood before the mirror.
'Technique: Void Shroud.'
I didn't use Qi. I used the Authority of the 10th Life. I wrapped my soul in a layer of "Nothingness." I instructed the Heaven-Devouring Sutra to eat any light the mirror tried to reflect, only allowing a tiny, regulated amount to escape.
I placed my hand on the glass.
The mirror hummed. It tried to pull my soul data.
Hungry.
My soul bit back.
The mirror flickered. For a split second, static noise covered the surface. The golden light that tried to form turned grey, then vanished, then stabilized into a dull, mediocre white light.
[Name: Rudra Ye]
[Bone Age: 15]
[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment (Peak)]
[Talent: C-Rank (Unknown Variant)]
"C-Rank?" The Proctor frowned. He tapped the mirror. "That's odd. The artifact stuttered. And… 'Unknown Variant'? Usually, it specifies the element."
He looked at me suspiciously. "Boy, did you use a concealing artifact?"
"I am just average, Elder," I said with a shrug. "Maybe the mirror is tired from looking at Prince Valerian's brilliance."
From the VIP seats, Valerian laughed. "At least the trash knows his place! C-Rank! He's barely fit to be a janitor!"
High above, on a floating platform, a man in dark green robes narrowed his eyes. This was Vice-Principal Vex. His pupils were vertical, snake-like.
"A glitch…" Vex muttered, stroking a jade ring on his finger. "The Mirror of Judgment does not glitch. That boy… mark him."
Back on the ground, the Proctor waved me through. "Pass. Barely. Next! Anya Ye!"
I tensed up. This was the dangerous part.
Anya hopped forward. She finished her candied hawthorn and tossed the stick away.
'Anya,' I sent a mental message. 'Remember the game. Don't let the fire out. Keep the dragon lock tight.'
Anya blinked at me and gave a thumbs up. She reached up on her tiptoes to touch the mirror.
The moment her small finger made contact, the atmosphere in the plaza changed.
The mirror didn't glow white or gold. It turned Red.
Not the red of fire, but the red of a dying sun.
Inside the mirror, the reflection of a little girl vanished. In its place, for a nanosecond—too fast for the students to see, but slow enough for the Elders—a pair of massive, burning wings unfurled.
CRACK.
A hairline fracture appeared in the center of the divine artifact.
The temperature in the plaza spiked by twenty degrees instantly.
'Shit,' I cursed. 'She's too strong. The artifact can't handle the weight of a Primordial Phoenix soul even when sealed.'
If the mirror shattered, the energy release would expose her.
I moved.
I didn't use a movement technique that would reveal my cultivation. I simply 'tripped' forward, slamming my hand onto the mirror next to Anya's, pretending to steady her.
"Careful, Anya!" I shouted.
My palm touched the glass.
'EAT.'
The Heaven-Devouring Sutra roared to life. The massive surge of Phoenix energy building up inside the mirror—the energy about to cause an explosion—was instantly sucked into my palm.
It burned. It tasted like spicy chili peppers and divine law.
I swallowed it all.
The red light vanished instantly. The heat dissipated.
The mirror, now drained of energy, let out a sad whimper and went dark. The crack remained, but the magical feedback was gone.
Silence.
The Proctor stared at the dark mirror. He stared at the crack.
"Did… did she just break it?"
I pulled Anya back, hiding her behind my robes. I looked at the Proctor with wide, innocent eyes.
"Elder! Your machine is broken!" I yelled, pointing accusingly. "It shocked my little sister! Look, she's scared!"
Anya, realizing the play, immediately buried her face in my leg. "Scary! The mirror bit me!"
The Proctor was flustered. "What? No! This is a Divine Artifact! It doesn't bite!"
"It cracked!" I argued, pointing at the fracture. "It must be old! You guys let Prince Valerian use up all the energy, and now it's malfunctioning on a child! The Stellaris Academy is too cheap to maintain its equipment?"
The crowd began to murmur.
"It did glitch earlier with him…"
"Maybe it really is broken?"
"That's dangerous…"
Vice-Principal Vex descended from the sky, landing silently behind the Proctor. His presence was suffocating—a Peak Saint Realm aura.
"What is the meaning of this?" Vex hissed.
The Proctor bowed frantically. "Vice-Principal! The mirror… it fractured when the child touched it. I believe… it might have reached its usage limit."
Vex looked at the mirror. He ran his hand over the crack. He sensed no residual energy. It was completely empty.
'Strange,' Vex thought. 'If it was an overload from a high talent, there would be residual Qi. But this… it's like the energy simply vanished.'
He looked at Anya, who was peeking out from behind my leg with big, teary eyes.
Then he looked at me. C-Rank trash.
"Replace the mirror," Vex commanded coldly. "And pass the girl. Bone Age 8. Cultivation… Foundation Establishment Early Stage."
The crowd gasped. An eight-year-old Foundation Establishment?
"However," Vex's snake-like eyes bored into mine. "Since the mirror malfunctioned, we cannot determine her Talent Rank. She will be tentatively assigned Rank Unknown."
He leaned In close to me. "I will be watching you, Ye Clan. Accidents do not happen twice in my academy."
He flew back up to his island.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I picked Anya up.
"You owe me a new mirror," I whispered in her ear.
"I want ice cream," she whispered back.
"Deal."
As we walked toward the inner gates, away from the confused crowd and the broken artifact, I felt one more gaze.
It was coming from the highest floating island—the one above the clouds.
Someone was standing on the edge of the Headmaster's Tower. A man with white hair and robes that drifted like smoke.
Emperor Altair. The Headmaster.
He wasn't looking at the mirror. He wasn't looking at Anya.
He was looking directly at my right hand—the hand that had touched the glass and devoured the explosion.
Even from miles away, I could feel his amusement.
'Interesting,' his gaze seemed to say.
I gripped Anya tighter. The first test was passed, but the mask had slipped.
The Academy of Monsters had officially opened its doors.