Grandmaster took Sai Joshi with him as they skirted the crowd, and arrived at the eastern city gate.
There were ten male and female youths standing outside the eastern city gate, protecting it. They were roughly the same age as Sai Joshi, and all of them were wearing yellow warrior robes with a green pattern inscribed on the chests. This was the uniform for second and third year students of Seven Premier Academy's outer courtyard.
When they saw Grandmaster, they immediately became respectful. "Master, you've returned."
Grandmaster nodded. Afterwards, he spoke a few words to the leader of the group. That student glanced at Sai Joshi, then immediately nodded his head. "There's nothing to doubt about our master's words. Go take this junior brother inside to register."
When Grandmaster took Sai Joshi into Seven Premier Academy, it was different from the vast and solemn scene that he'd imagined. Seven Premier Academy had an elegant environment, and there were various types of abundant and lush flora within. As he walked along the wide main path, he was able to see at least ten plants in every direction he looked. These plants had clearly been meticulously pruned.
After he'd walked for two hundred or so metres, several enormous sculptures appeared in front of him, covering his line of sight. There were a total of ten sculptures, and they were all ten metres tall. They had all been carved from extremely tough granite.
There were three sculptures in the front, with the middle sculpture resembling an old man. He had a set of spectacles and a beaming look on his face. His figure was average, but he was slightly plump, and he looked like a yes-man.
Grandmaster said to Sai Joshi, "The person in the middle is the founder of Seven Premier Academy, and also the first dean of the academy, Amith. The person to his left is an ancestor of my clan. He created the teaching foundations that are currently used by various spirit systems within Seven Premier Academy. He's also one of the spirit world's ten core role models, and has the title of Greatmaster. His name is Srinivas. My mother was a direct descendant of his bloodline. The woman to the right is also another ancestor of mine, Heera. She's Greatmaster's wife. The three of them were able to merge together and form the Golden Triangle. If Dean Amith could be said to have founded Shrek Academy, then Greatmaster would be the true spirit behind it. He was also the person who single-handedly raised Seven Premier Academy's Seven Monsters, whose sculptures are behind them."
The sculpture of Grandmaster looked like a middle-aged man who'd wasted away a bit, while Heera was a charming middle-aged woman.
There were seven sculptures lined up horizontally behind them. When Sai Joshi's gaze fell upon the sculpture in the middle, who stood at the forefront of the others, his body couldn't help feel little bit of familiar.
It was a statue of a tall man who had a handsome appearance, but the most peculiar thing about him, were his eyes. There was a pattern on his forehead with the word "King", and although it was only a sculpture, it had a sort of imposing.
"The seven sculptures that stand behind the Golden Triangle are Seven Premier Academy's Seven Monsters, who previously created their own glory. The person who's standing in front is the White Tiger Spirit, Abbas, while the second person is the Sausage Spirit, Sunil. The third person is our Spirit Vert Sect's ancestor, Arvind."
Arvind was the handsome amongst the seven. His green hair was draped across his shoulders, and he wore a simple set of warriors robes. Green vines that were clearly his Greygreen Grass spirit had coiled around the sculpture. There was also a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, but his lifelike gaze was fixed on a woman who was fifth in the row, who had braided hair.
"The fourth person is the Evil Phoenix Spirit, Jagdish, while the fifth person is Arvind's wife, the Soft Bone Spirit, Ankita. According to the stories, she was a hundred thousand year soul beast who chose to cultivate as a human. The person even further back is the Nine Treasure Spirit, Manika, who holds the title of the world's strongest auxiliary spirit master; she was also the Sausage Spirit's wife. The last person is the Netherworld Spirit, Preity. She was the wife of the White Tiger Spirit."
The first generation of Seven Premier Academy's Seven Monsters sculptures all had different shapes, but the fact that they were all Titled Spirits attested to how strong they'd been in the past.
Grandmaster's gaze was fixed on the sculpture, Arvind. The Golden Triangle and the first generation of Seven Premier Academy's Seven Monsters had laid the foundation for Seven Premier Academy. Even though ten thousand years had gone by, and even though Seven Premier Academy had raised an uncountable number of outstanding geniuses and experts, the number of sculptures had never increased, and had remained at ten.
Grandmaster explained to Sai Joshi, "We'll have to separate here. If you walk to the left, you'll arrive at the Spirit Institution. If you walk to the right, you'll arrive at the Spirit Engineering Institution. These are the two largest branches of Seven Premier Academy, and they both belong to the outer courtyard. If you were to compare them, the Spirit Institution is larger, while the Spirit Engineering Institution is smaller. Furthermore, the Spirit Institution is also divided into many departments. We'll go to the Spirit Institution to get you registered first. The basic requirement for you to enroll in the Spirit Engineering Institution is for you to pass the first assessment for new students."
Sai Joshi's gaze was still stuck on the ten sculptures. When he thought about the legends that his mother had told him about, he occasionally felt a shocked feeling rise in his heart.
The road to the left of the sculptures was still very wide, and could fit four or five carriages side-by-side. There was a signboard next to the road with the words 'Lakeside Path' written on it.