Recommendation letter required

After a short rest, they continued their journey, as today was the last day for registration this year. Missing it meant waiting until next year.

They passed through a narrow gorge with the sounds of flowing water, and a wide-open space suddenly appeared before them.

The terrain became flat, surrounded by towering cliffs and jagged rocks, forming a natural barrier that isolated this space.

Further ahead, people were traveling or climbing from different directions and hidden paths, exchanging quick glances and continuing towards the same destination.

Turning past a thick wall of vines, the dirt path underfoot suddenly transformed into smooth jade slabs.

The white jade spread out like a plaza carved out in the mountains.

On the east side of the plaza, a massive plaque was embedded in the facing cliff, bearing two words in dragon-phoenix script: Academy.

The plaque radiated a rich spiritual energy.

Directly below it was a bottomless, dark pool, as if stepping into it would instantly submerge you in endless darkness.

Yet, in the center of the pool, a wooden table stood perfectly in place.

The four legs of the table seemed to blend into the pool, leaving it unclear whether they extended to the bottom or if the table was suspended in mid-air.

An open book lay on the table, with a pen beside it.

The jade plaza was neither particularly large nor small, about the size of a schoolyard.

People emerged one after another from the vine-covered cliffs in all directions, all seeking to register at the Academy.

The place buzzed with activity and lively chatter.

“Let’s go over there,” Hu Yong said, pointing past the crowd towards the pool near the cliff face.

“Write your name in the registration book. Those with awakened spiritual meridians will receive a pass to enter and exit the Academy, allowing them to study there”.

The three of them walked in that direction, Yun Ruo and A Heng looking around with curiosity.

Besides those registering for the Academy, there were also many selling goods, with simple cloths laid on the ground displaying a dazzling array of spiritual herbs and magical artifacts, much like the stalls in North State City.

“Hey, young lady! Are you here to register? How about buying an Academy guide? It has detailed information and a map, making it easy to find classrooms, plus exclusive insider tips on the best and worst dishes in the cafeteria, and which teachers’ courses are the most… uh?”

The person stopping Yun Ruo interrupted their smooth sales pitch, tilting his head and looking at her with confusion, touching his lip: “Why do I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before?”

Yun Ruo glanced at the white-robed con man in front of her, and said nothing.

The other person quickly had a realization, slapping their palm: “I remember now! Haven’t we met three days ago! Ah, what a coincidence, we meet again, this must be fate! Girl, come, Academy guide, I’ll sell it to you at a discount, it’s fate!”

Yun Ruo: “…” You didn’t remember at all!

“How much?” she asked.

Lin Wang smiled sincerely: “One medium-grade spirit stone”.

Yun Ruo looked at the booklet in his hand; it was so small, yet it cost a medium-grade spirit stone.

It seemed that the con man was ruthless in taking advantage of aspiring students.

Just as she was about to refuse, a figure in black robes approached.

Seeing her, he didn’t seem surprised, nodding as he walked over: “Here to enter the Academy?”

“Yes,” Yun Ruo nodded as well.

“You guys are setting up a stall again?”

“Again?” Lin Wang scrutinized Yun Ruo, finally recognizing her.

“Dirty Face?!”

Well, she called him a con man, and he called her Dirty Face.

Their first impressions of each other were certainly unique.

Hu Yong had walked halfway when he realized Yun Ruo was gone.

He led A Heng back to find her, his face immediately showing a guarded expression upon seeing Bai Liye and Lin Wang.

He stepped forward with a gruff greeting, pushing Yun Ruo’s shoulder like a mother hen protecting her chick, steering her away.

“Don’t talk to them,” Hu Yong instructed Yun Ruo.

“The money in the bag is for your living expenses at the Academy”.

He couldn’t let her be swindled.

Yun Ruo looked back.

The white-robed con man was already tirelessly pitching to someone else, starting with “Young man, I see you look very familiar,” without changing his lines at all.

Even when rejected, he didn’t get annoyed, but cheerfully switched to another person and repeated the sales pitch.

His mental fortitude was terrifying.

Even more terrifying was that he was handsome and good-tempered.

Yun Ruo had only walked a few steps, but he had already sold a high-priced Academy guide.

The person being scammed was quite happy, and Lin Wang was also very pleased; truly a win-win for both parties.

The black-robed man was still standing there, watching Yun Ruo.

Their eyes met, and he didn’t dodge or evade, showing no expression or movement, making it seem like Yun Ruo was the one staring at him.

Objectively speaking, he was better-looking than the white-robed con man, but unlike Lin Wang, who always had a smile on his face, he had a lazy sense of detachment, with indifferent eyes that showed he didn’t care or was interested in anything.

But his actions were completely the opposite.

He teamed up with someone to play the role of a con man, but he would also step in to save people when they were in danger.

Yun Ruo glanced back again.

Bai Liye had already turned and left.

She and Hu Yong arrived at the edge of the pool.

A young woman was one step ahead of them, stepping onto the dark surface of the water.

The water remained motionless, and stepping on it felt like stepping on solid ground.

The woman walked steadily on the water, all the way to the wooden table, using the pen to write her name in the registry.

Ripples spread across the pool, and the surface emitted a soft, silvery light.

After a moment, a black pass rose from beneath the water, hovering in front of the woman.

The woman took the small pass and disappeared straight through the cliff face.

It seemed that she had entered the Academy.

“Go,” Hu Yong said to Yun Ruo.

“Just do the same thing she did. The pool is set up with a formation that will test your aptitude for admission. You’ll definitely be fine”.

Yun Ruo looked at the dark pool and slowly walked towards it.

The sensation under her feet was indeed that of water, and each step she took was steadily supported, preventing her from sinking.

She walked to the wooden table and found that the registry was clean, with no names written by those before her.

She flipped through it and found that the pages were all blank, so she randomly chose a page and wrote her name.

As soon as she finished the last stroke, the name disappeared into the pages.

Ripples spread across the water under her feet, hitting the edge of the pool and bouncing back.

The water surface emitted a subtle vibration.

Yun Ruo waited, but no pass rose from beneath the water.

She was a bit puzzled, turning her head to look at Hu Yong in silent inquiry.

Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet gave way, and the force supporting her abruptly weakened, causing her to plummet downwards.

She only had time to see the look of surprise on Hu Yong’s face, feeling the water creep up her feet.

Then, the sensation of falling suddenly slowed.

This was the third time.

The first time was during her fight with Hu Yong, when she thought it was just an illusion from her heightened focus.

The second time was when she killed the Spirit-Devouring Beast, when she felt the beast’s bite was also slow.

The third time was now.

If she thought the first two times were coincidences, then three times couldn’t be.

There couldn’t be so many identical coincidences.

Yun Ruo exerted force with her feet, stepping on the supporting spiritual energy that had slowly stopped her descent, and quickly darted back to the shore in a swift and graceful movement.

Only her shoes were wet, sending a circle of water droplets splashing.

Hu Yong’s expression was somewhat blank: “Where’s the pass?”

Yun Ruo: “There isn’t one. I almost fell in”.

Hu Yong only then came back to his senses: “That’s not right, how didn’t you fall in?!”

“You… you actually didn’t fall in?” a tall man with bulging muscles looked at Yun Ruo in disbelief.

“Doesn’t that mean you don’t have the qualifications to enter the Academy? If you don’t get a pass, you’ll fall into the water and have to swim out yourself”.

I almost had to swim out myself, Yun Ruo thought.

Was it the power of her awakened spiritual meridians? Could it make her speed faster?

She didn’t say anything.

The people around them who had seen what happened were curiously gathering around, chattering and striking up conversations with Yun Ruo.

“Why don’t you try again?” a girl said to Yun Ruo in a friendly manner.

“Seeing how good your skills are, you must have awakened your spiritual meridians. How could you not get a pass?”

Yun Ruo had no objections and tried again.

As before, no pass rose from beneath the water.

This time, she was experienced and came out almost without touching the water.

Hu Yong was completely bewildered.

“Hey this…” the girl who had spoken to Yun Ruo was very helpful, trying to analyze the reason for her.

“Have you tested your spiritual meridians?”

“I have,” Yun Ruo said.

“Are you sure your spiritual meridians have awakened?”

“I’m sure”.

The girl pondered for a moment, thinking of the most unlikely reason.

She tentatively asked: “Did you send a recommendation letter to the Academy before coming?”

Yun Ruo was stunned: “No”.

Hu Yong was also confused: “What’s that? A recommendation letter? There wasn’t one of those before”.

The girl didn’t expect that was actually the reason, and didn’t say anything for a long time.

“The rules changed five years ago. Now, if you want to enter the Academy, in addition to awakening your spiritual meridians, you also need a recommendation letter from a sect in advance. Do you really not know that?”

She had been preparing for this for a year, and had finally found a sect to help her write a recommendation letter, which cost her a lot of spirit stones.

“Next time, you have to prepare earlier.

Each sect only has one recommendation letter quota, and if they give it to their own disciples, they can’t help others write recommendation letters”.

Before leaving, the girl told Yun Ruo everything she knew, waving goodbye to her as she walked onto the pool’s surface.

“I hope to see you next year”.

“Thank you,” Yun Ruo was grateful to her.

Once she entered the Academy, she would definitely find her and become friends.

With only half an hour left until the end of registration, people were still arriving one after another.

Those who had arrived earlier were leisurely chatting with people and buying things on the plaza.

Those who came later quickly went to write their names and get their passes.

Of course, there were also some who failed the test and fell into the water, swimming to shore and shouting and cursing, recounting how many spirit stones they had spent to get a recommendation letter.

It seemed that even with a recommendation letter, you still couldn’t enter the Academy if you didn’t awaken your spiritual meridians.

Fewer and fewer people were coming.

Those who succeeded directly took their passes and entered the Academy.

Occasionally, some people would come out after entering to say goodbye to their families and friends.

Most of those who failed didn’t give up, trying again and again, until the sky in the mountains gradually darkened.

The wooden table above the pool sank into the water, and this year’s Academy registration came to an end.

The people selling things on the plaza packed up and left.

Yun Ruo poked A Heng, who was trying to bury his head in the water to see where the table had gone.

She grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him out of the water.

A Heng sat on the jade slabs by the water, shaking the water out of his hair like a puppy, splashing Yun Ruo and laughing.

Hu Yong wiped his disciple’s face with the hem of his clothes, looking at Yun Ruo with great shame.

He really hadn’t expected that there would be an additional requirement of an admission recommendation letter, otherwise he wouldn’t have rushed Yun Ruo to register.

Yun Ruo shook her head: “This trip wasn’t a complete waste. At least I know that next time I need a recommendation letter from a sect, so I won’t fail again next year”.

Hearing Yun Ruo say it so optimistically, Hu Yong felt even more guilty, his stubble-covered face wrinkling up like a gourd: “Okay, we’ll come again next year”.

No matter how difficult it was to get a sect’s recommendation letter, no matter how harsh the conditions, he had to help Yun Ruo with this matter!

“You need a recommendation letter?” a voice interjected.

Yun Ruo turned her head and saw Lin Wang’s beaming smile: “Our Idle Cloud Sect can write one for you”.

Yun Ruo waited for him to continue.

Sure enough, his next sentence was: “Considering you’re a valued customer, I’ll give you an 80% discount on the market price”.