On the rugged mountain road, Lin Jin rode the old horse, his heart heavy as he made his way back to Yon Village.
"Dean, are we going to that convention?" she asked.
"Of course we are," Lin Jin replied without hesitation.
After all, the future of the Academy was at stake—and with tens of thousands of gold coins involved, anyone who didn't go would be a fool.
However, the so-called evaluation convention wasn't going to be easy.
The entire province of Fasno was vast, home to over 150 cities, most of which had their own Spirit Master Academies.
Some cities didn't lack academies, but rather, those institutions had yet to join the Academy Alliance and were therefore unrecognized.
Such unaccredited institutions were often derisively referred to as "pheasant schools."
For these Academies, joining the Alliance was a top priority, which made them direct competitors of Tianxing Spirit Master Academy.
"According to Director Ding, over 30 Academies are participating this time," Lin Jin muttered to himself.
"And only the top three will be promoted. Not exactly great odds."
He frowned. The competition for Spirit Master Academy Alliance was comprehensive, with participants divided into two groups: students and tutors.
For Spirit Masters, strength was everything. These competitions didn't care about status or equipment—only raw power.
That was a slight advantage for Tianxing, since they couldn't win when it came to facilities, but they might stand a chance if it came down to ability.
Still, even that wasn't enough.
Each Academy could send three tutors for a series of 1v1 duels.
A win earned a point; a loss or draw earned nothing.
On the student side, five participants under the age of twelve would compete in solo challenges using the same scoring system.
Afterward, they'd participate in a 5v5 team battle to assess coordination and teamwork.
Matches were determined strictly by Spirit power rankings—no mismatches allowed.
Strategy wouldn't help much; only strength mattered.
In the end, the Academies with the highest scores would be promoted.
In case of a tie, promotion would be decided by random selection.
For Tianxing, this was a significant problem.
Currently, the Academy has only one qualified tutor: Lin Jin himself, who also happens to be the dean.
They didn't even have the required three instructors to compete.
As for students, Dai Mubai and Shen Xin were their strongest candidates.
Dai Mubai was right at the edge of the age limit—twelve years old.
His strength was incredible, but Lin Jin didn't want to expose him unless necessary. His identity was... complicated.
Too much attention could cause trouble.
Shen Xin, on the other hand, was a Spirit Master of the auxiliary type. Despite decent Spirit power, she wouldn't be of much use in one-on-one matches.
"That means we have to train someone. Fast."
Lin Jin rubbed his temples, debating whether to activate his first Spirit skill.
[First Spirit Skill Effect 2: Striking a student with a ruler increases their chance of entering an epiphany state. While in this state, their training speed improves dramatically, and the likelihood of developing a self-created Spirit skill increases.]
So… it's going to be that hard?
...
"Peng Fan… and Pang Hu," he murmured, reviewing student records from behind his desk.
These two are the hardest working. They have the best chance.
He circled their names and fell into thought.
While their natural talent wasn't impressive, their dedication was.
Under the Aura of Self-Improvement, their cultivation speed had increased by 20%.
If he sent them into the training room again and applied his Spirit skill strategically, they could achieve a training boost of up to 70%—enough to match, or even surpass, the speed of students with innate Spirit power at levels 8 or 9.
If the cultivation speed of a genius with innate full Spirit power were considered 100%, then a genius with Spirit power at level 9 would only cultivate at 90% efficiency.
Following that logic, a genius whose innate Spirit power was just level 1 would only reach 10% of that full potential.
In the short term, this gap may seem insignificant—but over time, the difference could mean reaching a milestone in one year… or in ten years.
"But luckily for you two… You met me."
The corner of Lin Jin's mouth curved upward into a confident grin. He couldn't help but chuckle, feeling a bit smug.
He glanced at the system time and saw it was nearly time for the afternoon session.
Reaching into his Spirit guide, he pulled out the Encyclopedia of Martial Spirits, grabbed his teacup from the desk, and began strolling toward the teaching building.
"Alright, that's all for today's class. Could you please ensure that you remember the strengths and weaknesses of the various martial spirits? We'll continue tomorrow!"
Lin Jin paused, then added:
"Also, don't slack off in your Spirit power cultivation. Shen Xin has officially become a Spirit Master. She's now receiving a monthly gold Spirit coin subsidy. If you don't want to continue feeling jealous of him, then train harder.
After class, Lin Jin pointed directly at two students.
"Peng Fan, Pang Hu—you two, come with me."
---------
The office building
The two boys followed him nervously. Once inside, Lin Jin gave them a serious look.
"Do you know why I called you here?"
Peng Fan shifted uncomfortably, while Pang Hu stayed quiet.
"Dean, I… I've been working hard," Peng Fan offered cautiously.
"I know you have," Lin Jin said, and then broke into a grin.
"That's why I'm going to reward you."
"Come with me!"
He stood abruptly and walked out. The two boys looked at each other in confusion, then followed.
They arrived at the Academy's cultivation room. As they stepped inside, their eyes scanned the unfamiliar space with curiosity.
Dai Mubai, who was training inside, sensed the movement and slowly opened his eyes.
"Dean? What's going on?" Dai Mubai asked, glancing between the newcomers with mild surprise.
"I found you two companions," Lin Jin replied.
"From now on, you'll be cultivating together."
He turned to Peng Fan and smiled.
"This is the Academy's exclusive cultivation room. It accelerates Spirit power growth. How fast you progress… depends on your effort."
Seeing all three students now present, he addressed them together.
"In six months, an Assessment tournament will take place. It means a great deal to our Academy. I've placed my hopes on all of you—you've been chosen to compete."
Lin Jin looked at Dai Mubai and nodded.
"I'm not too worried about Mubai, but as for you two—if you haven't reached level 10 by December…"
His smile faded slightly, replaced by a more serious expression that made Peng Fan flinch.
"But Dean," Peng Fan protested, "that's only seven months from now. With my talent…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear—he doubted his ability to reach that level in such a short time.
Beside him, Pang Hu gave a slight nod in agreement.
"The issue of talent isn't a problem for me," Lin Jin said firmly.
"This cultivation room, and the aura that surrounds it, will be the wind that sets your dreams sailing."
His confidence was unshakable. Before reaching the rank of Spirit Master, limitations from innate talent were relatively minor.
The true bottleneck was cultivation speed, and with both the aura enhancement and this exclusive training room, that would no longer be a problem.