"Do you have to compete with us?" Guan Yang said, a little speechless, "Mages are notoriously weak in the early stages, and you're already a Light-Fire dual-element Mage. Your promotion quest is a Tier 2 Mid-stage Fire Spirit, so isn't it normal to ask for help?"
At this moment, Yun Qiaoqiao also deactivated her skill and walked over, nodding, "Indeed, Senior Brother is right. Asking for help isn't a bad thing. Sometimes, accepting your own shortcomings is the only way to make significant progress."
After being consoled by the two, Guo Jiahao's mood improved considerably. His emotions came and went quickly, and he soon cheered up. The three of them then went back to the guild together.
******
Meanwhile, back at the school, Bai Yuntian used a secret military method to send the information he received from Lu Chenxing to the generals of the four war zones.
This was not him making a mountain out of a molehill; rather, all information regarding the previous human catastrophe had to be promptly aggregated in Tianjian City.
As he waited for a reply, a knock sounded at the door.
So Bai Yuntian put away his phone, waved his hand to open the door. The person who came was the newly appointed Director of the Academic Affairs Office, Wan Song.
"Director Wan, why are you here?" Bai Yuntian asked with a smile, though he was a bit puzzled.
"Principal Bai, have you forgotten something?" Wan Song looked at the puzzled Bai Yuntian and sighed helplessly, "Didn't we talk about the inter-academy competition last time..."
At the mention of this, Bai Yuntian suddenly remembered. Wan Song had indeed come to him recently about the selection of candidates for the inter-academy competition.
He had also previously asked Lu Chenxing if he was willing to join Super Martial University and represent Super Martial University in the inter-academy competition, but Lu Chenxing had refused at that time. (Chapters 27-28)
For the inter-academy competition, each academy fields four people, two of whom can be external reinforcements, but they must be below Tier 4, because Tier 4 individuals are meant to fight on the battlefield and should not appear in the arena.
Thinking of this, Bai Yuntian smiled, "Don't worry, I generally have an idea about the candidates. You can select some promising candidates you like. There are still three months until the competition begins. Two months from now, we'll hold an internal academy competition to decide on the candidates."
Wan Song was noncommittal about this suggestion. "Principal Bai, if it were before, this method would be fine, but this time might be a bit different."
"Oh? Are there any changes to this year's competition format?" Bai Yuntian became a little interested.
"There aren't any changes to this year's format, but the rewards have changed significantly. I don't know why, but the organizers have offered a Tier 4 secret realm as the reward for the champion academy, and they even allowed those faith-based sects to participate," Wan Song said with a shrug.
Although Wan Song was puzzled by the organizers' actions, Bai Yuntian understood the situation.
After he returned last time with the recording stone, cultivation technique, and stone carvings that Lu Chenxing had given him, and everyone discovered that the human cultivation path was broken, they unanimously decided to strengthen talent cultivation. While these old guys were searching for a way, they hoped that future generations might find an alternative path.
So he had nothing to say about the increased rewards this time, and he had no objection to most of the faith-based sects, except for...
"Is the Holy Light Church also going?" Bai Yuntian's brows furrowed.
"Yes, we've received news that they are going," Wan Song nodded in reply.
This made Bai Yuntian's brow furrow tightly for a moment. A moment later, he suggested, "Can we not go this year?"
He truly disliked the Holy Light Church. If the military hadn't ordered them not to leave the designated areas, with their unscrupulous methods, the Holy Light Church might now be the greatest culprit in the destruction of humanity.
Moreover, Lu Chenxing's second disciple, Yun Qiaoqiao, was a victim of the Holy Light Church.
In fact, many in the military advocated for directly eradicating the Holy Light Church, but the Holy Light Church was not weak in strength, and their Pope even possessed Tier 9 power. If they wanted to eradicate them, it would inevitably lead to internal unrest within humanity.
Therefore, after various considerations, this compromise method was used.
"I'm afraid not," Wan Song shook his head slightly. "This year is our school's chance to contend for a top-tier academy. If we win, we can join the ranks of the top. If we lose, all the efforts of our school's teachers and students over the past three years will be in vain. And if we forfeit, we will be judged as losing."
This gave Bai Yuntian a headache. Indeed, after several years of effort from all the teachers and students, they finally had this opportunity, so they couldn't just decide not to go.
As the principal, he couldn't disappoint the teachers and students. Not only did they have to go, but they also had to win!
Frowning in thought for a moment, Bai Yuntian's brows gradually relaxed, as if he had an idea. He said to Wan Song, "You go ahead and release the news as I said before, but the message needs to be changed. You should say this..."
Soon after, a piece of news was pinned to the top of the school forum, and discussions erupted immediately.
"Did you see the school's announcement? This year's major competition seems very important!"
"Yeah, even the school directly designated the candidates, only giving us a chance to challenge them. But it's not bad if we can win and take their place!"
"Below Tier 4? So it's four Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters at Tier 3 Perfected?"
Meanwhile, Lu Chenxing, who was originally at the library, was called to Bai Yuntian's office. Bai Yuntian looked at him with a smile and asked, "What do you think?"
"I'll pass. You're letting Yun Qiaoqiao, Guan Yang, and Little Fatty go? They're only Tier 2!" Lu Chenxing couldn't help but ask, "Principal Bai, are you sure you really want to win?"
"Besides, your school has so many people, there should be many geniuses, right? Why would you think of us few?"
"Of course," Bai Yuntian nodded seriously. "There are still two months until the internal school challenge. Aside from you, the cultivation resources for the other three will be provided by me. There will definitely be no problem raising their strength to Tier 3 Mid-to-Late stage."
"After winning the internal school challenge, the remaining month should be enough for them to reach Tier 3 Perfected, right?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Chenxing understood, and said thoughtfully, "There are still three months, so that should be enough."
Seeing him ponder, Bai Yuntian continued, "Actually, what you just said is right. Our school has many geniuses, but have you ever considered that other top-tier academies have even more geniuses! If we compete based on genius, we will undoubtedly lose!"
"But the four of you are different. I won't speak for you, but adding two never-before-seen faith gods and a Mage who controls Yang Power, even in top-tier academies, this combination is very rare!"
"So, only if the four of you go, do we have a chance to win."
After he finished speaking, Bai Yuntian paused, then added, "Oh right, I haven't told you yet, the reward for this year's winning academy is a complete Tier 4 secret realm. I can let your guild develop it for a month first, and then open it to the school."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chenxing's pupils contracted. He never expected that the reward for this inter-academy competition would be so generous!