Our class went to apply for Master-level courses together and were greeted by the same woman who initially tested me for entry into the Academy.


    “As your entire class has reached Peak Master, the school will permit you to continue to take courses for elite students.” I could hear a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but she tried not to let it show. “However, while it is permitted, to become elite Master-level students, you must also be selected by a Grandmaster and join their cohort. Your… choices of how to complete the final assessment may affect their decisions.”


    This was slightly worrying, but Zhuge Yan spoke up to calm everyone.


    “We understand. If a Grandmaster is unhappy with the way we completed the assignment, it wouldn’t have been a good fit for us anyway.”


    The woman nodded in appreciation of this attitude.


    “Very well. There are options for how you may proceed from here. Master and Grandmaster courses are divided into two five-year terms. You may attempt to enroll either as a group or as individuals. If you choose to enroll individually, your instructors will be core disciples of the Nine Rivers Sect near the end of their first term or at the beginning of their second term as Grandmasters of the Academy. They are experienced teachers with a proven track record.”


    I looked at the others and spoke in the direction we were all thinking. “We would like to keep our class together.”


    “If you enroll as a group, you may still be placed with an experienced core disciple, assuming there is one that wants your entire class as his cohort for the year. However, it is more likely that you will be placed under an inner sect disciple who is close to advancing to core. If you have a preference in this matter, it can be taken into consideration, but the choice is ultimately up to the Grandmasters themselves.”


    We deferred to Zhuge Yan for this decision. “Other than the experience of the teacher, how do these two options differ?”


    “With a core disciple, you will be one of their final Master cohorts, and after your first term, you will need to find a new Grandmaster to study under. They will be more experienced, but because of the change in teachers mid-way through your education, this is usually considered the inferior option.”


    She mimed balancing scales with her hands.


    “With an inner disciple, while they are less experienced, the quality of the education you receive will have a direct bearing on their advancement to core, so they have extra incentive to teach you well. As long as they advance to core disciple, you will retain this instructor throughout your Master-level courses. However, there is a risk that their ability will be lacking. This is not too different from the decision you had to make when first enrolling in the elite courses, but this time, your instructor won’t have someone above them monitoring your studies.”


    We looked to Zhuge Yan for his decision.


    He smiled. “We’d like to enroll as a group under an inner sect Grandmaster.”


    He turned to us to explain. “We aren''t just here to learn. We need to make connections. Being part of a Grandmaster’s primary cohort will be far more significant and will give us a firmer foundation when we enter the sect ourselves.”


    After he was finished, the woman returned our attention to the enrollment process. “Once a Grandmaster selects your class as their new cohort, you will be informed. If none wish to do so, we will need to separate you and place you individually.”


    “That shouldn’t be necessary.” Zhuge Yan looked confident.


    “The fee for the first term is 2.5 million gold, 500,000 per year. Your enrollment will be processed once payment is received.”


    The eyes of both JiaQi and LiTing shot open at this number. Chai JiaQi spoke hesitantly. “I… can’t afford that. My father expected me to only take the normal courses. Maybe I should—”


    I put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. It’s not a problem.”


    I looked at the administrator. “Do you accept spirit stones as payment?”


    “Of course. At 900,000 gold per stone.”


    I wrinkled my brow. “That’s a bit low.”


    She shrugged. “You can try exchanging them in the city. Someone there will be willing to offer you the current exchange rate.”


    I just shook my head. It wasn’t worth the trouble.


    I reached into my storage space.


    “12.5 million, so 14 stones with 100,000 gold left over, correct?”


    She smiled. “The excess will be credited to your account.”


    “Fang…” JiaQi was hesitant.


    “That’s a bit much, man,” said YuLong with a chuckle.


    “Don’t worry. It may be difficult for me to swing paying for everyone’s Grandmaster courses, but as long as it’s just this, I can manage.”


    YuLong and the girls didn’t seem to think too much about my payment, just accepting it as me being overly generous. I also didn’t think the school would look into it too much. Based on my experiences, they seemed to take a hands-off, neutral stance on most things.


    I just had to avoid Zhuge Yan’s assessing gaze. I wasn’t sure what all he knew, but I didn’t think he had anything on the level of the Ning Clan’s information network supporting him.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The woman behind the desk swept the stones into a storage bag.


    “With payment received, we will now need to hold individual assessments to establish your personal goals as a Martial Master. If others would please wait outside, this needs to be done in private. Mister Su, we shall begin with you.


    <hr>


    Once the others left and I was alone with the woman, she took out an affinity-testing orb.


    “Let’s see if you have made any progress during the last few years.”


    I widened my eyes. This wasn’t a good thing.


    She smiled thinly. “You know how this works. Place your hand on it.”


    I did so, following the normal routine, now wishing I hadn’t made certain purchases.


    Like last time, when a mess of chaotic lines was shown, she tapped on the orb.


    The lines transformed into the same nine images as before, but some of the colors had changed. There was also a strange static overlying everything.


    She tapped the orb once more, but nothing changed.


    “Strange…” She narrowed her eyes but quickly returned to her previous demeanor. “All of your basic affinities have advanced to peak six-star. This will be a firm foundation that may be of some benefit.”


    She sunk into thought for several moments before speaking again.


    “Based on your results thus far, if you wish to continue with the elite classes in your second term as a Master, your minimum requirement will be to raise at least two affinities to mid five-star within five years.”


    “What? How?”


    “The rewards for reaching Peak Master during the final assessment are enviable, but the cost is having to continue to excel. Your instructor will cover these issues with you when the time comes. I do not expect you will have much difficulty raising your earth affinity, but raising a second will be more difficult.”


    She made a few notes on a piece of paper before looking back at me.


    “If you wish to explain the oddities in your affinity test, you may qualify for additional benefits.”


    “What oddities?” I forced my face to go blank.


    She snorted. “You will not be penalized for them, but neither will you be rewarded until they are explained.”


    I remained silent, so she dismissed me and called for Yan to enter.


    <hr>


    We spent the next month undoing our cultivation and practicing properly. It was made clear to us that this would be a valuable use of the time.


    As Martial Masters in the elite class, we were assigned a villa on a hill separated from the rest of the school. This villa was where we would eat, sleep, cultivate, and have general classes with our primary instructor. We would only need to leave for profession-related classes.


    The building was empty of furniture when we arrived, with blank white walls and bare wooden floors. The only notable features were the large windows in most of the rooms that looked out on the surrounding countryside where we could see other private villas in the distance.


    When we walked into the classroom for the first time, our instructor was already waiting for us. She was a young woman in her early thirties, though she looked to be only a year or two older than us. She had a small, slight frame and looked weak enough that any of us could easily defeat her. None of us were stupid enough to believe that.


    “I’m Grandmaster Yuan TianYu. I’ll be your instructor from now on.” She spoke with a strict, harsh tone and gave us an appraising look. “You should know that most Grandmasters were wary of accepting your class. I only did so at the personal request of our shared Grandmaster, Ning ChenKun.”


    “Welcome, Grandmaster,” we all replied in unison.


    “Master Sun has told me about some of the peculiarities of your class, and I have been working with him to develop a training program that will best take advantage of the strengths you have presented. For now, we will focus on cultivation. Before you can practice any true Master-level arts, you need to develop a solid foundation as a Martial Master.”


    She looked at me. “The school will not provide any formations or pills for this class. You must provide everything yourselves. Su Fang, you have already shown that you can construct a basic Qi Gathering Formation. I will need you to construct several around the villa so that everyone has access to them for both cultivation and practicing professions.”


    She examined each of us. “Unfortunately, we do not have an alchemist among our number, so pills will be limited. This is not terrible. Having unlimited access to a formation will be far more beneficial for studying cultivation.”


    She looked back at me. “If you can learn how to construct healing and rejuvenation formations, it would be very helpful once we start practicing combat. For now, it’s not overly important.”


    She took out four technique manuals and handed them to my classmates.


    “Everyone is using a high-level Rank 1 technique, so if you use a Low-Yellow Rank 2 technique, it will be difficult to practice martial or professional skills. These are Peak-Yellow. You will still have to be careful about not pushing too much qi through your meridians, but the foundation they provide will be sufficient for this first phase of training. Practice these techniques until you break through to Martial Master once more.”


    She looked at me. “Let’s talk outside.”


    In a separate room, we sat down at a table across from each other.


    “I understand that you have a blessing that enhances your cultivation comprehension and were the impetus for your class’s ability to reach Peak Master previously. I’m assuming you will be able to create even Peak-Yellow meridians without any problems.”


    She placed a manual in front of me. “Show me.”


    I opened the cultivation technique and quickly read through its instructions. Then I held out my hand and created a practice Meridian following the pattern in the book.


    The instructor nodded her head and took out several more books from her storage bag.


    “You might not have anything to learn from a Yellow-Rank technique. These are four Low-Profound techniques that each work on different principles. One creates additional central meridians, one creates capillary meridians, one uses meridians of varying diameters to affect flow rates, and the last is an unusual technique that connects all the meridians into one large circuit to further enhance qi flow around the body.”


    She patted the manuals as she continued.


    “While the others are learning the basics of Rank 2 cultivation, you should study these. I have noticed that you are using a rather strange Rank 1 cultivation technique. I am not aware of the specifics of your technique or what benefits it may bring you, but as you practice, consider whether you should switch to a more conventional one.”


    She paused while looking at me.


    “You’re also only practicing a single-element technique. While it isn’t necessary, it would be easier to meet your personal requirement of raising two affinities to mid five-star if you were cultivating both types of qi. You should consider switching to a dual-element technique before we get too deep into the term and it becomes impossible to change. You can wait until after the first Trial to make your final decision on this, but if you are going to switch, it should be done before the second.”


    “Thank you for your guidance, Grandmaster Yuan. I will think about what you have said. For now, I will continue exploring my current technique.”


    The technique had several strange qi filters I hadn’t seen anywhere else, and I still didn’t know what they were for. Master Sun hadn’t been able to tell me, and it seemed like Grandmaster Yuan wouldn’t be able to either. I was extremely hesitant to give up on this technique with that mystery unresolved.


    This could be a mistake, but it wasn’t an irrecoverable one. At worst, I would switch after this Trial she mentioned.


    With new techniques in hand, the class and I practiced for six months until everyone had broken through to Master 1 with high-quality meridians. Finally, it was time to receive our reward for pushing our cultivation level so high during the assessment.