Chapter 130: Persuasion

The representatives of the Four Great Dao Academies remained silent, daring not to speak.

"Yi Qing," the Scarlet Robed Immortal began, "I've heard that in the past decade, the enrollment situation at Wuqi Dao Academy hasn't been ideal." With no one to pick up the cue, he had to continue speaking by himself. He was a graduate of Wuqi Dao Academy and still a nominal teacher there.

As his junior, Bian Yi Qing could only nod with a bitter smile. "That's right. It's not just the past decade; for the past thirty years, the number of new students admitted to our Wuqi Dao Academy has consistently been at the bottom among the Four Great Dao Academies." He sighed. "As a teacher at the academy, I'm very concerned about this and have been thinking about how to improve the situation."

"Oh, does the Immortal have any insights?" Bian Yi Qing was quite perceptive. The Scarlet Robed Immortal looked at him with satisfaction, then pointed at Chen Mo Bai and Yang Jing on the arena stage.

"Among these two, if Yang Jing wins, her score will be enough to enter any of the Four Great Dao Academies. Do you think she would choose Wuqi Dao Academy?" "Probably not," Bian Yi Qing said, frowning and shaking his head.

Dark Spiritual Roots are extremely rare, and there aren't many cultivation methods suitable for them. However, they happen to be perfect for cultivating one part of the *Six Imperial Sutras* and a profound technique derived from the *Cantong Qi*. But if Yang Jing wins the championship and is free to choose any of the Four Great Dao Academies, she would 90% likely choose Kunpeng Dao Academy.

"What if Chen Mo Bai wins then?" "Didn't the Immortal ask him before? His first choice is Jumang Dao Academy, and his second is Butian Dao Academy." "However, he can't get into either of those academies. Jumang already has a Celestial Spiritual Root, and Butian places the highest emphasis on humanities scores." "Does the Immortal have any instructions? I'm listening."

The representatives from the Dao Academies had essentially guessed the Scarlet Robed Immortal's intention, but no one dared to expose it. Bian Yi Qing, as a junior, could only nod with a bitter smile.

"There is strength in numbers. Although the Four Great Dao Academies have deep foundations, the fact that Wuqi Dao Academy has had the fewest new students for a mere thirty years won't affect its overall standing. But if we could slightly lower the threshold and admit promising students like Chen Mo Bai, we might just recruit a true 'Dao Seed' who could influence the future of the Immortal Sect."

The Scarlet Robed Immortal's intention was clear: if Chen Mo Bai won the championship, Wuqi Dao Academy should lower its admission score threshold and accept this combat champion.

"This... does the Immortal intend to use his personal quota to guarantee his admission?" Bian Yi Qing asked cautiously. If the Scarlet Robed Immortal were to use this special privilege, not only he, but even the principal of Wuqi Dao Academy, would have no choice but to agree.

"Not exactly. While I believe this young man will certainly be extraordinary in the future, I'm still a bit reluctant to use my quota on him." The Scarlet Robed Immortal shook his head, and Bian Yi Qing understood his meaning. He wanted Chen Mo Bai admitted to Wuqi Dao Academy without having to use his own special quota.

"I think the Immortal makes a good point, but I'm afraid that if I make an exception here, it will affect other Blessed Lands." Bian Yi Qing spoke tactfully.

The Four Great Dao Academies had already reached an unspoken agreement: although the Immortal Sect required them to broaden their admission, they still strictly enforced high-standard entrance exams to ensure that all students admitted to the Four Great Academies were Dao Seeds of exceptional talent. If Bian Yi Qing lowered the admission score for Wuqi Dao Academy in Danxia City, students from other Blessed Lands would naturally demand that their local representatives also lower their thresholds.

Bian Yi Qing could not bear such consequences. "Didn't the Immortal Sect ask the four of you to lower your thresholds this year, at least admitting one student from each Blessed Land? You can simply blame it on the Immortal Sect's Three Great Halls."

Bian Yi Qing dared not respond to that remark from the Scarlet Robed Immortal; not everyone had the courage to shift blame onto the Immortal Sect. "I'll consult about it." Ultimately, Bian Yi Qing was persuaded by the Scarlet Robed Immortal. Originally, he had planned not to admit Chen Mo Bai even if he won the championship, but now, for this matter, he immediately compiled a document detailing the entrance exam situation in Danxia City and sent it to this year's admissions director of Wuqi Dao Academy.

"I also think the Immortal's words make a lot of sense. If Brother Bian is in a difficult position, why not let us Kunpeng Dao Academy take this child?" At that moment, Lan Hai Tian, who had been listening all along, suddenly spoke words that shocked everyone.

"You... what do you mean?" The representative from Butian Dao Academy was a bit slow to react. "Didn't you say we should use this as an excuse not to recruit anyone?"

"This child has a certain destiny with me, and his talent in combat is truly outstanding. With a little cultivation, he might become another me."

Lan Hai Tian's words were a very high commendation. He was known as the Immortal Sect's top Foundation Establishment cultivator; while his chances of forming a Golden Core might not be as high as Yan Qiong Zhi's, in terms of combat alone, he was undeniably the strongest. If Chen Mo Bai could indeed possess his invincible combat prowess, an exception could certainly be made. After all, though the Immortal Sect was peaceful, expansion wars broke out periodically. To protect the disciples of the academies, a steady supply of combat prodigies for protection and defense was essential.

"This..." The representative from Butian Dao Academy hesitated. Shang Qing from Jumang Dao Academy, however, remained composed; she already had a Celestial Spiritual Root and had no need for combat geniuses.

"Oh, it's finally starting." At this moment, the representative from Chunyang Academy suddenly spoke. On the arena stage, after Chen Mo Bai and Yang Jing had agreed to fight purely with spells, the final match of this combat competition began.

A breath of chilling ice. With a flick of Chen Mo Bai's long sleeve, clear water droplets splashed out, then froze into ice needles. Like a rain of flowers across the sky, or a sweeping volley of bullets, they covered Yang Jing's entire body.

*Clink, clink, clink!* With distinct tapping sounds, every ice needle grazed past Yang Jing's body by mere millimeters, outlining her exact form on the arena floor behind her.

"Eh?" Chen Mo Bai exclaimed in surprise. He was certain he had aimed with his spiritual sense; such "human body outlining" should not have occurred.

At that very moment, Yang Jing also made her move. She raised the five fingers of her right hand, and wisps of dark smoke rose from her palm, transforming into small black daggers that shot towards Chen Mo Bai.

*Splash!* The Water Elemental Shield activated instinctively, blocking the path of four black daggers. But at that moment, Chen Mo Bai's spiritual sense suddenly fluctuated. A vein bulged on his forehead, his expression subtly changed, and he shifted his body to the right.

*Slice!* A black dagger sliced across his cheek, cutting a small wound from which blood seeped. This was Chen Mo Bai's first injury since he began participating in combat competitions.

"Was that an illusion? Or did you manipulate the light?" Reaching up to touch the wound on his cheek, Chen Mo Bai recalled the recent event. If his spiritual sense hadn't had a breakthrough, he might have already lost in that instant.

But Yang Jing didn't answer at all. With a faint smile, she made a grasping motion with her right hand. A plume of black smoke emerged from her palm, condensing into a dark, longsword nearly two meters in length and about two fingers wide.

In an instant, she seemed to stretch across nearly half the arena, appearing directly in front of Chen Mo Bai. "So fast!" By the time Chen Mo Bai registered it, the dark longsword was already held horizontally against his neck.