The next day at the training complex, the new students were divided into four groups; the 10-11 age group was separated from the 16-17 age group. Agois was placed in Group 1. This first group consisted of twenty people—the most talented of the new disciples. These twenty sat in rows in a large hall, waiting for the instructor to arrive.
Agois observed the other disciples in the class; they were all handsome and well-dressed. Young Master Crom, whom he had seen the day before, was also here.
As Agois looked at Crom, he noticed Crom's competitive spirit was focused on a white-haired youth sitting in the front row. Agois followed his gaze; the boy indeed had a striking presence. Agois didn't dwell on it but immediately fell into meditation, awaiting the instructor.
After a while, the 9th Elder Enke entered the classroom. He briefly surveyed the class and nodded. Even from their appearance and energy, he could tell this class was full of geniuses. Every student here had already opened their 2nd meridian.
"Firstly, I am the 9th Elder Enke, and you may address me as such. Today, I will begin by giving you information about this world. Perhaps some of you are knowledgeable even before joining the sect, but consider this a compulsory lesson," he began.
He continued, "Does anyone know the name of the star we live on?" Elder Enke asked.
Crom immediately answered, "We live on Origin," he said with a hint of arrogance.
The white-haired youth in the front, however, continued his cultivation practice, seemingly uncaring. Agois muttered "Origin" internally. So, the star they lived on was called Origin.
Elder Enke replied, "Well done, Crom. You may sit." He then continued. "Origin consists of nine regions. We, humanity, are currently in the weakest position on Origin, but we have overcome the dangerous period. We can now proudly and firmly defend the Askaraf Region on this planet. Although Askaraf is the least fertile and resource-poor region among the nine, it is still our land. When humanity grows stronger, under the leadership of young people like you, one day we will reach lands of prosperity again."
He aimed to light the fire of the human race within the youth, offering both information and motivation. Over time, this fire would grow to illuminate humanity's dark age. The strongest sects, factions, and clans in Askaraf established the Cloud Federation—of which the Celestial Sun Sect is a member—to unite humanity against the threats of other races. And it has succeeded; if humanity has not yet perished, it is due to this unity against external fronts.
He looked at the youths; some were surprised, but most were indifferent. These indifferent youths had already come across such information. For them, it was ordinary knowledge. But talented individuals from all walks of life—including those from ordinary, mortal families—joined their sect. For them, this information was like the gates to a new world.
Agois was one of them. He realized how vast the world was with this information; his home was just a secluded corner of this world. He felt great excitement, as if he were stepping onto a larger stage. But he immediately sensed an inconsistency in the instructor's words: If there were nine regions, and humans lived only in Askaraf, who controlled the other eight? Were there other races besides humans? he wondered.
As if confirming Agois's thoughts, Elder Enke continued, "Humans are not the only ones living on Origin. There are six other distinct races in this world, and all of them are very powerful. They are spread across different regions," he explained and settled into his seat, watching the expressions of the youth.
Agois now began to understand. He was truly surprised that other races existed, but he was also more excited. What did they look like? How powerful were they? Yet, Agois sensed from Elder Enke's tone that humans were cautious of the other races in this world. Well, he could learn about such things later.
Elder Enke said, "If you ask where the center of this world is, it is the Helbes Region. Although the Helbes Region does not appear to be under the control of any single race, powerful forces control its rich resources behind the scenes." He gave the youth deeper information. "Now you have gained a certain understanding of this world, haven't you? Our Askaraf Region is divided into six provinces: Agrond, which is the largest and richest province where our sect is located, and our other provinces: Ules, Ordon, Arlos, Nile, and Zou."
Elder Enke finished his sentence and fell silent. No student asked anything. Except for Agois and two other children, they all showed indifferent expressions of arrogance. Agois and the two children, however, had engaged expressions, completely absorbing the new knowledge.
Elder Enke smiled and said, "Let's delve into cultivation topics after this simple introduction." Suddenly, the interest of the whole class was piqued. Even the indifferent and arrogant youths looked at Elder Enke with excitement and interest. Although they had all reached the Silver Realm, they didn't possess much understanding of the realms beyond.
Elder Enke smiled, seeing the class's renewed interest, and began speaking, "All of you have already reached the Silver Realm. The Silver Realm represents the first three of the twelve meridians, manifesting from the 1st to the 3rd meridian. When you open your 4th meridian, you step into the Gold Realm." After he said this, all the youths began to get excited. Elder Enke continued, "The Gold Realm extends up to the 6th meridian. When you open your 7th meridian, you enter the Purple Realm. The Purple Realm extends up to the 9th meridian. When you open the 10th meridian, you step into the Saint Realm. This realm represents the peak of the meridians, and you are considered powerful on Origin if you are in this realm."
Elder Enke explained and paused, watching the youth.
Most of the youth were astonished. Even though many came from cultivation families, their family cultivators were not that strong. The Saint Realm felt incredibly distant to them.
One youth couldn't resist asking, "Elder Enke, what lies beyond the Saint Realm?"
Hearing this, the entire class, including the arrogant Young Master Crom and the indifferent white-haired youth, immediately listened with interest.
Elder Enke's face filled with longing, but he quickly composed himself and smiled, "You youngsters! You are still in the Silver Realm, yet look at what you are curious about. You will learn when the time comes," he said.
Without waiting for the youths to react, he stood up. "That is enough for today. Elder Hada will give a lesson on combat skills shortly, so you have a half-hour break before returning here," he said and left the classroom.
After Elder Enke left, everyone regained their composure. Agois tightly clenched his fists. His primary goal was to rapidly ascend within the sect and to enter the top 10 students. To compete with those students, he first needed to reach the Gold Realm.
Suddenly, chaos erupted in the classroom. "Hey, Jun Rangos, you can tell me if you're afraid to duel with me!" one of the children shouted at the white-haired youth. Jun Rangos looked at the child as if he were looking at an idiot, as if asking why he would bother. Then, in a detached and indifferent tone, he said, "I'm not interested," without even looking at the child.
The child went mad at this arrogant response. They were all in the Silver Realm, and all had powerful families. Did he think he was superior to them? he thought, suddenly releasing his energy and moving to attack Jun.
The handsome, white-haired youth suddenly looked at the attacking child, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. Seeing this, the child instantly froze, their attacking hand suspended in mid-air. They couldn't move; it was fear. If they moved, it felt as though they would die.
While the child was frozen in fear, the rest of the class watched mockingly. "You can't even move, yet you dare to attack? Trash!" Such mockery and remarks rose from the class.
Agois, however, was focused more on the aura the white-haired youth had released and immediately withdrawn. It was a truly terrifying pressure that the other children in the class, except for Crom, hadn't noticed—which was why they were mocking.
Crom wasn't surprised but rather contemptuous. Attacking an opponent without knowing them was the job of trash, especially if the opponent was Jun Rangos. Even Crom was cautious of Jun, unsure if he could win against him.
The white-haired youth stopped paying attention to his surroundings and resumed cultivation. Agois and Crom did the same. Seeing Agois, Crom, and Jun cultivating, the others lost their enthusiasm to go outside and began cultivating as well. No one wanted to fall behind; they were all talented.
After a while, Elder Hada entered the classroom. All the children opened their eyes, stood up, and greeted him in unison, "Greetings, Elder."
Elder Hada waved his hand. "Be seated," he said in a loud voice. He immediately started the lesson. "Alright, youngsters, now I will give you details and an introduction to combat skills," he said.
He began explaining, "Combat skills have comprehension levels. When you successfully execute a skill, you comprehend it at the Initial Level. Beyond that is the Profound Level. When you comprehend a combat skill profoundly, you enter this realm," he said calmly.
Agois nodded; his current comprehension of the combat arts he practiced was already at the Profound Level. He felt a little proud.
Elder Hada continued his explanation, "After the Profound Level, there is the Perfect Level of comprehension, and after that, there is the Black Level. This level of comprehension is the pinnacle," he said and paused.
Agois muttered "Perfect and Black" internally...
Even Crom and Jun showed interest. They had some knowledge about cultivation realms but didn't know much about comprehension levels.
Elder Hada started talking about martial arts, informing the youth about various types of combat skills and giving them tips on what to pay attention to in battle, how to defend, and how to attack.
The lesson continued this way until noon. At the end of the lesson, Elder Hada told the youth, "From now on, the advanced training will have elective courses. If you have talent, you will be trained; otherwise, move toward other fields, youngsters. In any case, you have one year before you enter the internal sect competition. So, don't be discouraged if you don't have talent in one profession or field—the important thing is always power, never forget that. You may now disperse." He said and left.
Suddenly, the class erupted into chaos: youths challenging each other, mocking each other, and children boasting they would become a Saint. Agois slipped through them and headed outside. Crom also left with Jun. Crom glanced at Agois, but they all went their separate ways. It was only the first day; there was no need for unnecessary rivalry. From what he understood, the real competition would start after the training.
But just as Agois was about to leave, Dol came up from a distance and blocked his path. "I challenge you. Are you willing to fight me?" he said with anger and rage; he could not accept yesterday's humiliation.
Just as Agois was about to speak, Crom's voice was heard, "Hey, Dol, you can't defeat him. Stop embarrassing yourself and me." Dol's back was soaked with cold sweat. He immediately backed off. Agois looked at Crom but said nothing. It was clear from the man's gaze that he despised him. Agois didn't care. In fact, he didn't take these children seriously. He now had a huge opportunity, and his goal was much bigger, so he continued on his way without looking back.
Agois's arrogant attitude bothered Crom, but he didn't dwell on it. He, too, went on his way. Jun had already disappeared.