Chapter Thirty-Five: The Azure Wind

  The Azure Wind Academy is one of the four major academies on this continent that can be counted on one's fingers.

  The Azure Sky Academy of the Naito Commercial Federation, the Royal Iron Blood Academy of the Ere Empire, the Tomorrow's Star Academy of the Libel Kingdom, and the Saint Light Will Academy established by the headquarters of the Holy Light Church are the four largest academies on this continent.

  Among these four academies, only the Azure Wind Academy recruits students from all intelligent species on the mainland - note that it's not just humans, but all intelligent species.

  The academies of the Ere Empire and the Kingdom of Libelle are naturally mainly oriented towards their own nationals. The Academy of Holy Light, on the other hand, only recruits those who are devout believers, and also requires talent, perseverance, and a good heart... Compared to the other three academies, the conditions are much more stringent.

  The Azure Wind Academy is different. As long as you can afford the tuition, pass the exam, and meet the age requirements, you can enroll!

  Of course, admission is easy, but graduation is difficult. The Azure Wind Academy holds a grand examination every year to test the progress of students in each grade. If you fail three subjects, sorry, please drop out.

  What is meant by "lenient admission and strict graduation" is exactly this. Of course, tuition fees will never be refunded.

  Of course, there are far more than four colleges on the mainland, but none of them can compare to these four. If possible, no one would be unwilling to study in these four colleges... Well, maybe Holy Light Theological Seminary is slightly inferior, after all, not everyone can keep the regular precepts of the Holy Light Church.

  However, it's not easy to get into these four colleges either.

  The Royal Iron Blood Academy of the Ere Empire, naturally recruits elites in all aspects. Their annual entrance examination does not set a fixed standard, but is calculated based on the number of people. Only a certain number of students who are ranked at the top are admitted, and others naturally fail to pass.

  The Star of Tomorrow Academy in the Kingdom of Libellule requires a broad range of knowledge in all aspects. According to one of the school's principals, they need people who can stand on their own after graduation, not just geniuses who excel in one area. Of course, if there are extreme talents, they will not be stingy with an admission quota. But people who meet this condition are obviously not many.

  The relatively easy one to get into is the Azure Wind Academy. The entrance exam only tests one thing, as long as you have a special skill, you can come and try to take the entrance exam. Of course, the registration fee and tuition are definitely not free, as long as you have money, my family's gate will always be open!

  And besides, rumor has it that if you can find a way to send some extra gold coins over, like ten or twenty times the tuition fee, even if your exam results are not so good, there's still hope for admission...

  But after entering school, it's not that simple anymore.

  The elimination rate of Tianlan Academy is said to have exceeded 50%!

  The population of the entire continent is not too large, after all, peace has only recently been achieved, and just a few decades ago there were continuous wars year after year, making it impossible for the population to grow rapidly. Even now, there are still constant small frictions between countries, and humans and beastmen occasionally clash in battles. Nevertheless, the population of the continent is at least tens of millions, possibly even hundreds of millions.

  Hundreds of millions of people, and young people who are eligible to attend school account for about 10% of that number, which is 10 million people. Of course, the vast majority of these 10 million people come from families that are too poor or simply do not have the talent. Excluding those, there are still several hundred thousand young people who may be able to attend school. With such a large number of people, even if the four colleges try their best, it is impossible for all of them to be admitted.

  So, there are many medium and small colleges that recruit students, which greatly disperses these young people. But people have ambitions, it is possible to take the university entrance exam, who wants to go to those medium and small colleges to waste their youth?

  Other colleges adopt elitist policies and strictly control the quality of enrolled students. Only the Azure Wind College is different, I take in almost anyone!

  Anyway, most of the time it's the professor lecturing in a large class, with the help of magic power, no matter how big the classroom is, everyone can hear and see clearly, so the quality of education won't be too bad.

  But after enrollment, if you fail three exams, I'm sorry, you can only be asked to drop out. You know, these three exams are cumulative!

  In the same academic year, if you fail three subjects, you will naturally be expelled without a doubt. In the first year, if you fail two subjects and pass through re-examination or re-study, but still have one unqualified subject, you will also be expelled!

  That means, if you're studying at Sky Blue Wind Academy and you fail three times, you'll be expelled directly!

  Moreover, although the entrance exam of Tianlan Academy only tests one subject, after entering the academy, in addition to the subject you took the test on, you must also choose three or more compulsory courses!

  As a result, the elimination rate of Tianlan Academy is naturally terrifying. With this, Tianlan scared off countless young people who thought they had some talent.

  Even so, many people want to take the entrance exam for the Azure Wind Academy, which is ranked first among the four academies. No way, the other three academies are even harder to get into, Azure Wind at least has a glimmer of hope, right?

  So now there are at least tens of thousands of students taking part in entrance exams.

  However, even if it's easy to enter but hard to graduate, Tianlan Academy won't accept just anyone. Their entrance exams have their own unique system - you don't need to be top-tier, but you must have your own special something, and sufficient potential, in order to pass the exam. Out of tens of thousands of people, at least 90% will be eliminated. Only those lucky ones who remain will have a chance to enter Tianlan Academy for further study. And whether or not they can graduate is another matter altogether.

  Ji Ran was preparing for the entrance exam project, which was swordsmanship. And Lydia, naturally, was magic.

  As for what to learn after entering the academy, Ji Ran also has his own considerations. Even Lydia, he has planned a way out for her. With his help, passing the exam should be no problem.

  So, Ji Ran is very confident about this entrance exam.

  The Azure Wind Academy is located in the northeast of Perth City, covering a vast area. Just by looking at the academy's size, it's almost one-third of Perth City or even more. The outer perimeter of the academy naturally has high walls, and inside the walls, various tall buildings emerge one after another, showing the grandeur of the academy from the outside.

  As a building in the business district, the architectural style of Tianlan Academy is more inclined to be free and easy. However, it can only be seen by entering the academy.

  Tens of thousands of people taking the exam, naturally need a lot of test venues. The exams for magic and swordsmanship must also be held in different places. In the end, after discussion, Uncle Lays accompanied Ji Ran to take the swordsmanship exam, while others accompanied Lydia to take the magic exam.

  After showing their examination qualification certificates at the registration desk, Ji Ran and Lais walked in the direction indicated by the staff.

  "The Azure Wind Academy is indeed one of the four academies, even the staff at the registration office are Silver Rank...” Ji Ran was currently level 27 and could see the levels of people up to 15 levels higher than himself. However, when he looked at the staff member, it was still a question mark, indicating that the staff member was at least a Fourth-Grade professional.

  "It's alright, there's no White Silver rank, who has the qualifications to teach students in this academy? That staff member is probably just a student who stayed behind. The real teachers have at least five or six levels of strength. I've even heard that there are several professors in the academy who are Gold rank... and as for the principal's strength, it's even more unfathomable."

  Lais told Jiran everything he knew. He had also thought about applying to the Azure Wind Academy before, but unfortunately his family background was a hindrance and he ended up going somewhere else instead.

  It's not unexpected. The White Silver Rank is very powerful, with three levels, and each level has a huge gap between them. A sixth-level professional can take on dozens of fourth-level professionals without any problem - of course, that's just in general terms. If rank could directly represent combat strength, there wouldn't be so many disputes in this world... Two people would face off, exchange ranks, the lower one would concede, and it would be settled!

  Of course, skipping levels is not uncommon, but skipping grades is even less common... After all, it's no longer a difference in quantity, but a difference in quality.

  After entering the Azure Wind Academy, the sky suddenly turned azure, and not even a single white cloud could be seen. The sun also disappeared without warning. It was only natural that there would be an extremely large magical barrier enclosing this place. The annual recruitment was too important, so it was normal for the academy to be cautious.

  It's not easy to get a panoramic view of the entire college, and students who come to take the exam as well as their accompanying personnel can only enter the outermost area of the college.

  The overall tone of the Azure Wind Academy is free and lively, which can also be reflected in its architecture. The buildings are not bound by traditional shapes, each with a unique shape. The arrangement is also the same, looking like there is no rule at all. Plus the green trees and corridors dotted among them, combining to form an environment that is both strange and beautiful.

  It's just that in this environment now, they're all human.

  Tens of thousands of students took part in the entrance exam, and the number of accompanying personnel was several times that of the students. It's no wonder it's crowded! Walking on the front courtyard of Tianlan College, I suddenly had a sense of chaos like going to tourist areas during holidays in my previous life.

  Fortunately, there are signs guiding the way everywhere, and many students wearing the sky blue uniform of Tianfeng College are helping to maintain order, so it's not too chaotic. After all, everyone is here to take the exam, if they make trouble first, do they still want to be admitted?

  Following the directions of the road signs and the students who were helping to maintain order, the two people arrived at the entrance of the swordsmanship examination venue. The swordsmanship examination had always been a hot topic in the entrance examinations, so there were also the most people outside this examination room at this moment.

  At the registration desk, Ji Ran had already exchanged his admission ticket for an examination permit. The examination permit had a number on it, and he needed to wait until his number was called before entering the exam room. Since his number was still far away from being called, the two of them decided to find a place to rest first.

  "Hey, isn't that Les Bright, the genius of the old Ere Empire? It's been ages since we last met, at least a decade or so?" Suddenly, a voice with a sharp and biting tone reached the ears of the two.