Chapter 58: Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning

Ye Ye’s third trial—the second test—was once again taken side by side with Su Ziye.

However, this time, their journey was unimpeded.

Compared to the first trial, the number of examinees in the second had dwindled considerably—even with Liu Ru’s earlier help in the Xuan Hall, most candidates had still failed to pass the initial round. It was only natural: under standard circumstances, few could clear the first trial.

There were eight halls in the first trial, but only three in the second.

If this pattern continued, the third trial would likely have just one left.

Liu Ru lifted her gaze to the examination hall before her. Like before, it was forged of ice and snow, but its scale far surpassed that of the previous icy corridor.

From the outside, the examination hall now appeared more akin to a grand, circular theater.

This time, Zhou Yi was not by her side—only Su Ziye accompanied Liu Ru.

“Let’s go,” Liu Ru said, then stepped forward to enter.

The first impression upon entering the icy hall was a delightful coolness.

A corridor for candidates led inside, and after a brief inspection by members of the student council, the two were permitted entry.

But Liu Ru was instantly astonished by what she saw.

Overhead stretched a vast blue sky.

From the outside, this place should have been an enclosed theater, but inside, only tranquil blue skies and drifting clouds could be seen.

Liu Ru instinctively turned to look behind her, but Su Ziye had disappeared.

She was growing used to this by now.

Underfoot, lush green grass spread out, and above, the endless sky—this was a boundless grassland, far larger than it appeared from outside. Here and there, a few candidates were scattered across the prairie.

Gone were even the conspicuous potted plants from the previous trial.

Nevertheless, Liu Ru recalled the subject of the second test.

The challenge was wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.

Yet, all she saw was radiant sunshine—no sign of gloom or mist.

“Hello, everyone. I’ll be your examiner for the ‘Sun’ Hall once again.”

Zhou Yi’s voice rang out from above.

Sometimes Liu Ru wondered: Zhou Yi always seemed so ordinary, yet why was he so often entrusted with important tasks? At the very least, he was adept at presenting a friendly face.

But thinking further, he always completed his duties well.

“I’m sure you’re all aware of today’s topic: wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.”

“In a moment, we’ll randomly release these energy phenomena throughout the testing grounds. Your task is to capture and analyze these forces.”

“A reminder: you may not share any captured powers with others. Violation will result in elimination.”

“That’s all.”

“Now, do your best. I hope everyone achieves their desired results.”

As Zhou Yi’s voice faded, Liu Ru looked to the sky.

Suddenly, the once clear expanse changed.

Dark clouds gathered in one corner, lightning arced across the heavens, rain poured in torrents over some regions, while elsewhere the sun blazed on. Fierce winds swept through, flinging rain in sharp, stinging waves.

In the blink of an eye, the entire grassland became a place where the powers of nature clashed wildly.

…

…

“Here you go.” Zhou Yi handed Su Ziye his scoring sheet for the day.

Su Ziye, without hesitation, marked himself an eight.

Returning the sheet, he asked at just the right moment, “This exam feels very different from the last one, doesn’t it?”

“How so?” Zhou Yi prompted, already knowing the answer.

“Last time, everyone could touch and see the flowers and plants. Now, all we have are elusive wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. Before, you just had to pull up the plants to pass, but what about this time?” Su Ziye fixed Zhou Yi with a questioning look.

“The focus of the test is different,” Zhou Yi replied with a smile. “The first trial assessed talent and skill in the Realm of Material Mastery. Put simply, it’s about tempering the body and laying the foundation for climbing higher.”

“In the Material Mastery realm, you deal with tangible things—for instance, using breathing techniques to absorb and store more energy, or altering the flow of energy through your meridians to speed up your cultivation.”

“It’s a long and arduous path of mining the treasures within your own body, but every road has an end, and not everyone can reach it.”

“Soon enough, another great realm appears before you on the path of cultivation.”

“That is the realm of Knowledge Attainment,” Zhou Yi said, looking at Su Ziye.

To Zhou Yi, Su Ziye was merely a boy taken in as a servant by Liu Ru, admitted to the academy thanks to her favor—otherwise, he’d have been eliminated halfway through. As an elder, it was only right to impart some worldly wisdom and cultivation knowledge.

“Human strength is finite. Even if you had the strength of ten thousand men, you could only move a larger rock. But look at thunder and lightning, at the rising winds and shifting clouds—these forces of nature can move mountains and overturn seas with ease.”

“So, after reaching the limits of self-cultivation, you soon begin to borrow power from the outside world.”

“That process is Knowledge Attainment.”

“It’s much harder than Material Mastery.”

“Everyone has their strengths—and their weaknesses. If you find a field you’re good at to start your Knowledge Attainment journey, you’ll progress twice as fast with half the effort.”

“But if you get stuck in a field that doesn’t suit you, you might never advance for the rest of your life.”

Su Ziye asked, “Does that mean all the senior students here have achieved Knowledge Attainment?”

Zhou Yi laughed. “Knowledge Attainment is just the beginning of true cultivation. Having a good teacher is crucial. If you can enter Ye Ye Academy, Knowledge Attainment is never a problem—unless someone stubbornly tries an extremely difficult field. That can take a lot of time and energy, but if they succeed, the results are immediate.”

“What are these extremely difficult fields?” Su Ziye asked, curious.

Zhou Yi smiled knowingly. “I once asked the same question. Generally, the four domains of earth, water, fire, and wind are the easiest for Knowledge Attainment—simple, commonplace. Those who choose one of those usually go on to become mages.”

“If you keep developing your inner potential, you can follow the warrior’s path, mastering the flow of energy both within and without your body. That’s also a viable route.”

“These two paths are usually seen as the dividing line between mage and warrior.”

“But there are many more paths of Knowledge Attainment to be discovered.”

“For example, take Chairman Karotes—his path is the mysterious power of all things. Just as all that rises eventually falls, the earth itself is immensely powerful. If you attain knowledge in this field, you can gradually control gravity, and extend this mastery into the next realm: Manifestation.”

“Only at the Manifestation realm can one truly be called superhuman.”

“Manifestation?” Su Ziye asked.

“That’s the third great realm of cultivation,” Zhou Yi explained. “It’s already hard enough to go from Material Mastery to Knowledge Attainment, but the leap from Knowledge Attainment to Manifestation is like the difference between heaven and earth.”

“Though I haven’t seen the exam topics yet, the third trial is likely a test of Manifestation. But that’s a bit out of my reach,” the senior said with a wry smile. “I haven’t reached the Manifestation realm myself.”

“What about Karotes?” Su Ziye asked. “What realm is he in?”

“Him?” Zhou Yi looked at Su Ziye, then shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Su Ziye was incredulous.

“Very few people announce their realm—it’s private. There are few duels over this in the academy, and hardly anyone can challenge the chairman,” Zhou Yi explained. “But we can make an educated guess: to be the boss of one of the three organizations, you must be at least in the Manifestation realm. In fact, I suspect they’re all in the Profound Insight realm.”

“What’s that? Profound Insight is the fourth great realm of cultivation—the last, really. Most cultivators will never reach it; only the most exceptional ever do,” Zhou Yi said. “Beyond Profound Insight is the Heavenly Realm—the realm of the unknowable. Just remember: anyone at that level is a monster beyond reason.”

“So,” Zhou Yi continued, “if we rule out the two lower options, Chairman Karotes must be in Profound Insight.”

“Material Mastery, Knowledge Attainment, Manifestation, Profound Insight,” Su Ziye counted on his fingers. “So those are the four great realms of cultivation.”

“Exactly.” Zhou Yi nodded approvingly. “And remember, cultivation isn’t only about fighting. The academy nurtures talent in all fields. With any skill, you can find a place to study here and become someone useful to society.”

Su Ziye felt the conversation was straying, so he quickly brought it back. “Wait, wait—weren’t we talking about wind, rain, thunder, and lightning?”

“So how do you pass this exam?”

“As I said, Knowledge Attainment is about sensing and mastering the forces of nature,” Zhou Yi explained. “Most here have already crossed that threshold. All they need to do now is recall that moment of insight, recapture it on this grassland by reclaiming the powers we’ve released, and prove their strength and level.”

“For the few who haven’t, this is the perfect place to grasp the secrets of Knowledge Attainment—our test environment is as optimal as can be. It’s easy to get started here.”

“In essence, this is a test of your innate talent for Knowledge Attainment.”

“Your ability to sense and connect with energy, to make it your own. That’s what you’ll be graded on.”

Su Ziye finally understood. “So, not taking the third trial isn’t such a loss for me?”

“Think positively,” Zhou Yi encouraged. “If you failed, wouldn’t that be worse?”

…

…

Liu Ru had found a sunlit spot, sheltered from the rain.

The whole grassland was in chaos by now.

Here, the wind howled; there, the rain fell; thunder boomed to the left, lightning flashed to the right. Anyone would agree the test topic was aptly chosen.

But unlike the confusion of the first trial, this time, after the initial selection, nearly everyone quickly grasped the goal and became chasers of lightning.

Candidates who had reached Knowledge Attainment could immediately sense the powers saturating the grassland. Capturing wind, rain, thunder, or lightning was not impossible—it was within easy reach.

Only Liu Ru seemed an outlier amid the frenzied chase.

Her first instinct was to seek out the sunniest spot and shelter from the rain—as though chaos reigned outside, but here, in her little patch, time was unchanging.

But after avoiding the rain, she faced a new dilemma: how was she to pass the exam?

She was alone—there was no one to rely on.

According to Su Ziye, the main goal for this outing was to draw out Mo Yun and eliminate him, as an answer to the academy.

But obligations aside, Liu Ru still needed to clear all three trials to gain admission.

Now, she had to overcome the test before her.

Basking in the warm sunlight, the girl soon grew a little drowsy.

She knew this wasn’t the time for sleep, so she forced herself to stay alert. Suddenly, she felt something warm seep into her forehead.

It was like a drop of rain, gentle and warm.

Was it starting to rain?

Liu Ru looked up and saw only the sun overhead.

Yet more of this warm, rain-like sensation began to seep through her skin, into her muscles and bones. Astonished, she looked inward and discovered these droplets were coming from the sunlight itself.

“What’s happening?” Liu Ru couldn’t help but wonder.

…

…

In the monitoring hall, someone quickly noticed.

“Look at Liu Ru—she’s absorbing the power of the sun.”