Mortal Realm, Capital Planet of the Hoborg Empire, Main Continent, Cloudmount City, In the Immortal Pillar Academy, Bibliotheca.
After a few minutes of travel, where one was lost in his own thoughts while another was curiously looking through the windows at the scenery flying past them, sometimes asking questions about anything that went through his mind, the shuttle arrived in front of a magnificent building with 'Bibliotheca' written on the front over its entrance.
“We've arrived.” Said the spirit.
As soon as the other two heard the spirit talking, they focused their attention on the colossal building in front of their eyes. “The Bibliotheca, as all the campus' structures, is based on the Sperakos Empire's style. It being a Peak Power in our Immortal Pillar Zone. The building in front of you is fashioned after some of their most impressive-looking temples. The three columns at the entrance symbolize the strength, knowledge and order used to prop up the cultivation world to where it is today, which is itself represented as the roof.” [A/N:Think Greek temples]
Guang Yang then asked, a bit puzzled. “Since you're in the Hoborg Empire, why didn't you use the local style?” “An interesting question. The reason why we didn't is simply because the founder of our organization was from that power, and to commemorate his memory, we decided to keep the same style throughout every single academy in our organization. It more or less became our brand, if you were to compare it to a product. And it is even more apparent in kingdoms and empires like yours where it looks significantly different from what one could find around.”
The boy seemed completely captivated by the story, as he usually was with any new knowledge, but could not help himself from asking other questions. “Is the founder still alive? And do you know his name?” Despite the relentless questions, the robot still patiently answered them. “We don't know if he is still alive, and he always hid his real name, preferring being called the Founder. He was a bit of an eccentric, but he always did his best to propagate his ideals via the Academy. He made sure that as many people as was possible were able to have access to education. He did not want there to be too much divide between the elites and the common populace.”
“He once declared, 'All the strongest organizations of today came from the bottom at one point. So why should they disdain the place they originated from?'” Nung then added, with admiration. “What an amazing person. To dare go against the most powerful cultivators in this Realm for the sake of the weak is either foolish, extremely brave, or both. I'm guessing that he had his fair share of troubles from those so-called elites?”
The spirit nodded. “Yes. The records said that he was attacked by many Rank 3 cultivators. He was even hunted down by some Peak Powers for a time. However, after the Founder reached Level 9, he crushed every single one of his pursuers and destroyed all the Peak Powers that dared to hunt him down. I know it may sound preposterous, since there were even Peak Level 9 Cultivators among the latter, but it's true. The records are not completely clear about how he succeeded, only that it had to do with his Concept. Something about teaching. Afterwards, he developed our organization, nurtured many powerhouses and like-minded fellow teachers, until it became what it is today.”
Guang Yang was very impressed, since he did not know if he would be willing to risk his life for people that he did not know. Nung was even more amazed, since he was aware that even family members and lovers could betray each other to save their lives or acquire rare resources, despite claiming the contrary. After all, saying it was easy, but doing it was a lot harder. He really wished he could meet that man, which prompted another question. “I'm curious. You talked about not knowing whether your founder was alive or not. However, even if he was at the Peak of Level 9, it would be very hard for him, a human, to be able to live more than thirty thousand years, let alone a hundred thousand or more. Does that mean he ascended?”
The robot nodded. “Actually, I never said that he was a human. But you're right. He did pass the Nine-Fold Lightning Tribulation and ascended to the Immortal Realm. However, he waited until he was more or less sure that his organization would be able to survive without him. And that had become the tradition in the Academy since then. All the Peak Level 9 cultivators need to nurture another Peak Level 9 before they can attempt their ascent. It is essential if we don't want to be destroy by other powers. Thankfully, as we develop greatly over the years, we never had any problem with maintaining a number of them, even increasing them over time. Of course, the exact number is kept a secret to deter anyone who would have dangerous thoughts towards us.”
Nung nodded while the boy was listening silently on the side, focusing on expanding his knowledge of the cultivation world. The former then asked with curiosity. “That makes complete sense. As the idiom says, 'there is no eternal friendship, only benefit.' Although I don't completely agree with that sentence, among organizations, I found it true most of the time. Anyway, you said that he wasn't human. What race was he then?”
The spirit said. “A rock monkey. At least, that was what the records said, even if it seems a bit ludicrous.” When the black-hair puppet heard that one of the most talented cultivators in the last million years was a simple mana beast with a Rank 1 bloodline, he was only slightly surprised. After all, despite his low cultivation, thanks to his puppet body, he was able to follow his Lady for more than hundreds of thousands of years, which allowed him to see all manners of geniuses, and some of them had even worse of a start than that founder. While others who were taunted as Heaven's chosen, never amounted to anything. At least, relatively. The Wanderer's Realms were a dangerous and cruel place, where nothing was set in stone, and even the best could fall while the weakest could reach the apex with a Realm's worth of luck and hard work. [A/N: It's a figure of speech. There's no stealing involved]
When they finished their conversation, they started walking towards the gigantic entrance of the imposing building. They climbed up the stairs in a relaxed manner, the latter seemingly being there, more to awe the visitors than to be purely convenient. After a few minutes of climbing those seemingly unending stairs, they crossed one of the entrance situated between two enormous columns which looked like they could support the sky itself.
The room in which they entered, if one could call it that with its sheer monstrous size that perfectly reflected the exterior of the building, with its clean, orderly and imposing atmosphere. As they kept walking towards the back of the room, Guang Yang could see a surprising number of cultivators seemingly waiting in line at different counters. The child noticed that some lines were a lot shorter than the others. When he started to think about the reason why, he realized that the shorter queues seemed to be composed only of Rank 2 Cultivators with a few rare Rank 3, while the longest ones only had Rank 1s like himself.
The robot noticed the boy's gaze and explained. “There are a few different counters, such as those for professors, advance students, normal students, VIP visitors and normal visitors. As you both can see, we have several counters for each one. Otherwise, no one would be able to access the Bibliotheca with the number of people being what it is. Also, the cultivators working at the counters are students who wished to get some contribution points by accomplishing this task. It's risk-free, and moderately remunerated, so many wish to get that job. Of course, the numbers are limited, so there is a rotation in place. Anyway, if you're interested in doing it, you can check out the information package I sent you earlier. Everything is in there.”
“As to how the Bibliotheca works, mister Guang only needs to go to a counter for normal students over there and asked to get a reading room. Once you're there, you'll be able to consult any information related to your classes. You also can stay as long as you wish in there, but the spirit will ask you to leave the room if it feels that you're not studying.” Guang Yang then nodded and said. “I understand.” He added. “I think I'm done for today. Should we go back home, uncle Nung?” The man replied. “Sure.” He then turned to the robot and asked. “Could you ask for a shuttle to bring us back to our car?” The spirit agreed and brought them back to the place where they exited the previous shuttle.
Although the man and the child did not know if it was the same shuttle since they all looked the same, but when they arrived they found a similar vehicle, parked in front of the gigantic building. They then proceeded to board it and the 'flying bus' took off in the direction of the parking area. The flight took them less than twenty minutes despite the great distance, as the vehicle was incredibly fast. When they arrived at their destination, they exited the shuttle and went to find their car. Thanks to the guidance of an other sub-spirit, they reached it quickly. After which, they immediately boarded it and commanded the inboard AI to fly to the mansion without delay.
When they were in the air over the road to their home, Nung started a discussion with the child. “So, how did you like the visit, young master? Was the school as good as you expected?” The questions seemed to have perked him up. “Definitely! It was even better than I thought. The buildings were so beautiful, the spirits were very kind, the courses seemed very interesting. Although the test were also very hard. But I can't wait to learn more about all those topics!” His excitement prompted a smile to appear on the face of the man by his side. “As long as you liked it, young master, then that's all that matters. But you haven't started your classes yet, so you should reserve your judgement. After all, you could be disappointed.”
The child nodded and added. “I know uncle Nung, but I'm sure it will be very cool. After all, the academy is very, very powerful and I'm certain that people would not go there to learn things otherwise.” Nung shook his head slightly and said. “Although your logic is valid in theory, young master, in reality, it's not as easy as that. It's not because a high number of people believes in something, that that thing is true. To be fair though, in that case I think you're right. But we would still need to wait for you to start school before we can be certain of it.”
The boy nodded and said. “You're right. I also can't wait to tell everything to teacher, mom and dad. I wonder what they will think about my choice of optional classes. Since I didn't have the list of classes, I couldn't ask them what they thought about it before going to the academy.” A bit of doubt crept up in his voice, as he was not sure if his decision was correct or not. “Young master, why do you think that your teacher did not ask for a list of the available classes? Even normal families have access to it before they enroll, so you should have received it too.”
When he heard what his uncle Nung just said, the boy felt like a corner of his mind lit up, as if something that should have been obvious to him, but was hidden because his mind was in a state of excitement, was finally revealed. He then mumbled. “Right... We should have received it...” He then looked up to Nung and asked him, to clear his doubts. “Uncle Nung, I don't understand. Why wouldn't teacher asked for the list. That way we could have chosen together. It makes no sense.”
A chuckle then escaped from the man when he heard the boy express his doubts. “The reason she didn't do it, is the same reason why she wanted you to enroll in the Academy, in the first place. Can you guess what it is, young master?” The boy took a few seconds to ponder the answer and said, with some hesitation in his voice. “I thought it was to make some friends. Isn't it the case?” The man nodded and then shook his head. “It is and it is not. What I mean is that you teacher, along with your parents and all your uncles and aunts, wish to help you grow up, become more mature and independent.” He paused to let it sink in when he saw the gears in the boy's head turn. After less than a minute, Nung asked. “Is young master aware of the way you would be able to do that?”
Guang Yang replied, again with hesitation. “By going to school?” A slight smile could be seen on the other's face when he replied. “Again, yes and no. It's not 'going to school' in particular. It is to experiment, to try new things, to meet new people, to succeed and to fail. To fall and stand up from said fall. To sum up, it is to live through the 'Red Mortal Dust' while being aware of our imperfections and our wish to improve ourselves.” When the man looked at Guang Yang, he noticed that he seemed to have lost him with his philosophical speech. With a wry smile, he added. “I apologize, young master. I tend to go too deep in the philosophical side of things when I explain those subjects. If I were to use a simpler vocabulary, I would say that you need to do things that you're not used to without always having the people closed to you protect you. But you don't have to worry too much about the details, since you'll understand everything as time passes.”
Guang Yang nodded his head, a bit confused by his uncle's explanation, but understanding that it was important. He thought. “I understand every words he used, but when put together, the meaning escaped me completely... I guess I'll just follow his advice and have fun at school... That's definitely what he said... I think...”
While the two stayed in a comfortable silence, the car was whizzing by many huge trees on the side of the road, its appearance a blur for any cultivator below Rank 2 walking behind those same trees. As the child made his decision, he noticed that they were quickly approaching their mansion, since he recognized a few other properties that they passed by. After only a few more minutes, they finally reached the carved wooden gates of his destination. As the inboard AI connected to the property's spirit, the gates opened to let them through. The car then immediately flew to the parking area and landed on its designated spot.
When the vehicle stopped moving, the doors opened and the two exited. Since they did not inform the other three of their return, no one was waiting for them at the entrance. Of course, as soon as they crossed the entrance gate, Bai Yue, Guang Hua and Hei Qiang were all informed of it. However, they decided to wait for them in the interior patio of the main building with a few drinks prepared to celebrate the successful enrollment. Nung and Guang Yang then proceeded towards the gathering since they received the 'memo' of the property's spirit as to where everyone was. After a few minutes of walking, the two entered the building and arrived at the patio shortly afterwards. When the boy saw the two women sitting on the same couch with his dad alone on another one facing them, he darted in the middle of the two beauties to sit down, while Nung, before being told to join them and sit by Hei Qiang's side, said, while bowing slightly towards the three. “Two Ladies and Lord, the tasks were accomplished successfully.”
The three were slightly confused at first when they heard of a second task, but when they saw the pure happiness on the boy's face, their minds clicked and they all smiled from relief. Of course, the child was not really aware of what just went through their minds, and instead opted to tell them about everything that happened, from the difficulty of the tests to the optional courses he chose. He talked about the spirits and its story about the Academy's founder which amazed the young couple. However, Bai Yue was only slightly interested the latter. After all, as Nung previously thought about, she met many interesting characters during her cultivation's journey and that man was not the most eccentric by far.
However, as she noticed the curiosity and admiration on the other two's face, she said to them. “Well, when all of you break through to the Immortal Layer and we ascend to the Immortal Realm, we may be able to meet him. After all, someone who could create such disorder in the Mortal Realm will definitely not stay silent once he reaches a higher Realm. Of course, he might wait to reach a higher Rank before trying, though.”
Guang Yang jumped up, excited. “That would be so so cool! Imagine meeting that legendary man after having heard of his story!” That made the adults chuckle and Bai Yue said. “It would be interesting. But that would be in the future. Now, why don't you keep telling us about what happened at your new school?” Guang Yang nodded and resumed his story.