Chapter 088: The Top Student (Vote Requested)

Xin Lang and his companions leafed through the first volume of the "Compendium of the Martial Academy," but found nothing they sought.

"Check the table of contents!" Xin Lang prompted.

Qian Baidu scanned the contents and said, "It's in the second volume, page one hundred and thirteen!"

Xin Lang opened the second volume and flipped to the designated page. There, he read: Student Levels and Advancement Criteria at the Martial Academy.

Student Level System:

The Martial Academy divides its students into four ranks: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond. Bronze is the lowest, Diamond the highest. There was an annotation: In the hundreds of years since the academy’s founding, only three Diamond-ranked students had ever emerged. Their detailed profiles followed.

The academy granted different privileges according to student rank. For example, the library was separated into four sections; Bronze students could only borrow martial arts manuals and cultivation methods from the Bronze area, and the fees were steep. Gold students, however, could borrow nearly all manuals except the treasured "Saint-Level Martial Techniques" at a fraction of the price—less than twenty percent of what Bronze students paid.

Within the academy, high-ranking students enjoyed absolute privileges.

"Damn, I want a gold identity badge too!" Hong King Kong grumbled, swinging his fist in frustration.

The three continued reading and found the academy's promotion standards.

Promotion was based on a points system: defeating a peer earned 1 point. Upon reaching 100 points, a student could challenge someone of a higher rank. If victorious, they were promoted; if defeated, their points were wiped, and they had to start over. Likewise, if a high-ranking student lost, they would be demoted.

There were countless Bronze students, but Silver and Gold ranks were fixed: five hundred Silver and only fifty Gold students.

Private fights were strictly forbidden. If peers fought without permission, the instigator lost 5 points. If a higher-ranked student provoked a lower-ranked, the penalty doubled: Silver to Bronze lost 10 points, Gold to Bronze lost 20 points. If the challenger lost, the penalty was added to the lower-ranked student’s total.

Lower-ranked students could not challenge upward unless they had the necessary points. Unauthorized challenges were punished, and medical expenses for injuries were self-paid.

If a student’s points became negative, they would be expelled from the academy.

"Wow, so the Gold students must be really formidable!" Qian Baidu said with relief, glad he’d been stopped by Sun Shiwen.

After skimming through the "Compendium of the Martial Academy," Xin Lang and his friends gained a basic understanding and set off to find their dormitories.

The Martial Academy, famed as the largest martial arts academy in the Grand Summer Dynasty, offered exceptional living conditions. Every student had a private room.

Once Xin Lang found his room, he began to carefully study Sun Shiwen’s three volumes of the "Compendium of the Martial Academy." The various rankings listed caught his interest.

First came the Flower and Grass rankings, but Xin Lang skipped those, uninterested.

What piqued his curiosity were the academy’s "Gold List" and "Silver List."

The top one hundred Silver students, ranked by strength, were recorded on the "Silver List," complete with names and detailed profiles.

Xin Lang thought to himself, "These are the targets I must challenge!"

He then glanced at the "Gold List." Unlike the Silver List, it featured only ten names—the ten strongest students in the academy.

"Defeating a peer earns one point! But there are only fifty Gold students, and the academy forbids repeatedly challenging the same person to farm points, so accumulating one hundred points as a Gold student is nearly impossible. Even if you do, there’s no Diamond student to challenge. How does one advance to Diamond rank?" Xin Lang pondered. His greatest concern was how to become a Diamond-ranked student, which would grant access to the academy’s most prized "Saint-Level Martial Techniques."

The next day, Old Fatty arrived at the academy after a night of revelry, but without an identity badge, he was barred from entering.

Xin Lang eventually brought him a badge, allowing him inside.

Old Fatty boasted, "Boss, the capital is amazing! The brothels here are several times bigger than those in Jiuyang City, the girls are prettier, and their skills in bed are unmatched! The sounds they make—just recalling them makes my bones melt!"

Qian Baidu, seeing Old Fatty’s smug grin, decided to burst his bubble. "Fatty, I have some very unfortunate news for you."

"What news? Don't tell me the academy bans students from staying out overnight?" Old Fatty asked anxiously.

"No, it’s worse than that," Qian Baidu replied.

"Oh no, is it that the academy forbids relationships between male and female students?" Old Fatty pressed.

"Nope."

"Then what is it? You rascal, hurry up and tell me!" Old Fatty grabbed Qian Baidu by the neck in desperation.

"Let go of me, you dead fatty! Otherwise, I won’t tell you that your last words before you left yesterday were overheard by Ouyang Yanran!"

"My words were overheard by Ouyang Yanran!" Old Fatty exclaimed in shock.

Xin Lang was accustomed to their antics, though their banter drew curious looks from those nearby.

"Miss, why have you stopped?" A familiar voice sounded next to Xin Lang.

He turned his head to see two young women who had just passed by, now pausing. One of them looked back, her gaze meeting Xin Lang’s.

She was about the same age as Xin Lang, her skin soft as goose fat, lips like cherry blossoms, brows painted in ink, her eyes as clear as autumn water—a beauty both gentle and refined. At that moment, she was sizing up Xin Lang.

"Miss…" The young maid beside her also turned to look at Xin Lang.

Xin Lang recognized the little maid’s face and thought to himself, "Isn’t this the girl I robbed under the Sky Mountain, Qiu Yue?"

No further speculation was needed; he instantly realized the young lady was the one who hadn’t shown her face in the carriage that day.

Xin Lang scrutinized her again, and when he saw the badge at her waist, he was startled. "Gold! She’s actually a Gold-ranked student!"