“You, boy, go and wash over at that pool. And make it quick.” Elder Vanko slightly wrinkled his nose as he pointed to a small waterfall that had a small pool at its base some distance away and said to Azalon.

Azalon nodded slightly, picked up Raka and quickly ran to the waterfall and jumped into the pool, clothes and all. He took off the clothes after he jumped into the pool and quickly scrubbed himself.

But Azalon was dumbstruck when he saw himself after he scrubbed off the black substance.

The skin that was revealed after he scrubbed off the black sticky substance was pink and tender just like that of a new born. There was not even a single blemish and it was even glowing slightly!

The reflection of himself he saw in the waters of the pool was a childish face that was white and tender with sharp black eyes and raven black hair that fell to his eyes, a small and sharp nose and pink lips! His cheeks were so white that he felt as if milk would come out if he squeezed them!

“This… this… this…” Azalon stuttered incoherently as he stared at his reflection.

How can this be him?? When and how did he become like this??

He had been always rushing and training in the Wilderness when he was in the Blue Wind City. So, his skin always had a slight tan. But looking at himself right now, he suddenly remembered that pretty bastard Asma. He felt his stomach tumbling as he compared himself to that pretty bastard.

But he quickly dismissed this idea as he couldn’t help it. He suddenly turned around to see a white light emit from Raka’s body. And he could also feel that LILY and Merup were trying to appear outside.

He quickly picked up Raka and submerged into the pool. The pool was not deep and pretty shallow. The water just reached just above his head when he completely submerged. He sat down cross legged on the bed of the bottom of the pool with Raka in his lap and released LILY and Merup.

They too were pulsing with white lights and Azalon recognized that since he broke through to the Spirit Condensation Realm, the physical changes that should have appeared on his Spirits when they have reached the [Infantile Stage] after their Evolution from the [Embryonic Stage] but wouldn’t because of his low cultivation level were about to manifest.

The first one to have the white light dim down was Merup and Azalon was slightly shocked at the changes on the Spirit. The infant palm sized Spirit was no more and what stood in its place was an almost double sized Lightning Foliot. It was just like the miniature Spirit figurine he had seen in his Soul Root revolving around his own Soul. Small Purple lightning would occasionally flash on its body bringing with it slight sounds that sounded just like flashes of electricity.

The next one was LILY that came along with an announcement in his mind, but he simply ordered the system to record it with an over riding command. The fairy that had only two or three changes appear on her body after she completed her Evolution now became slightly larger with a golden band around her head and her dragonfly like wings grew to almost double the size she had before. Azalon could make out a small protrusion on the golden band on her head and he remembered that the figurine of her Soul in his Soul Root seemed to have a Silver Gem embedded into the golden band along with four wings. A silver armor formed around her and she really appeared like a female warrior albeit in a mini size.

The final one was his original Spirit, Raka. He too grew in size and was now almost the size of his arm from the palm to the elbow. The gray fur on his body changed to form sharp bristle like things and Azalon could see small scales forming below the neck of Raka. The silver lines that formed a pattern below his eyes extended all the way to his ears now and the golden eyes were much more deeper in color and appeared like small molten balls of metal gold. Suddenly, a flash of purple appeared on his forehead and a small purple gem appeared just between his eyebrows. It was a tiny Amethyst that was the size of a fingernail. If one wouldn’t search for it, it was not that prominently visible within the gray bristles of Raka, so he wouldn’t have to explain about these changes that appeared on his Spirit’s body.

“Hmmm? May be I can. Hank said that the Spirits would grow up to the next stage when the Cultivators reached another Realm. May be I can use that reason but how to explain these many changes?” Azalon muttered to himself as he stared in shock at that purple gem as he could see a small lightning bolt streaking within the gem!

But he didn’t dwell on it further and simply added it to the list of the things that changed when he reached the Spirit Condensation Realm that he had to observe when he had time. Right now, he had to return first, else the candidates and the two Elders get suspicious as to why he was taking this much time just to wash himself.

“LILY, Merup. Return first. We will talk again later.” Azalon spoke to the two Spirits and quickly retracted them.

“Be careful, Master.” LILY, the ever protective of him replied with a concerned voice but she too understood the situation.

“Chi chi chi… This weird guy… Ahhh! No, no, don’t beat me, big sister. You be careful, wie… Master!” Merup was obviously quite fearful of LILY replied in an obedient tone after being warned by LILY.

“Hmph! I will have to protect this weird guy.” A slightly childish voice snorted in his mind with a small voice and Azalon looked down only to see an indifferent pair of golden eyes staring back at him which were quickly averted when they saw him looking back.

Azalon didn’t know how his Spirits spoke with each other, but he plopped up from the lake and quickly dressed himself with a pair of clothes he took out from his [Void Ring]. He couldn’t carry Raka as he did before, so the tiger had to walk beside him.

The small group of people stared at Azalon in shock and Azalon simply shrugged with a bitter expression on his face. He knew that combined with his still growing body and his new color and skin, he should have cut quite a figure within these guys’ eyes. He looked around when he found out that the old Elder was no where to be seen. But he immediately stopped when he heard Elder Vanko’s voice.

“Alright, come and stand here. You guys, don’t look like you have seen something amusing. This boy here broke through to the Spirit Condensation Realm and if you push him at the wrong places, he will very easily wipe the floor with you. The Spirit Energy expelled all the impurities accumulated in his body. That was one of the most basic symbol that one has advanced to the next Realm, the Impurities Cleansing. His body is now like a new born and his physical body level is way more than you guys have. Think about this before you laugh!” Elder Vanko disdainfully scolded the candidates that were stifling their laughters while looking at Azalon. Those guys, under the Elder’s admonishment, remembered the burst of oppression they felt when Azalon broke through and their faces paled.

Even though they came from the borders of the land, they at least knew about the basic Cultivation Realms and they also knew that a Cultivator at a higher Realm could deal with the all the Cultivators beneath his Realm effortlessly. Right now, with Azalon in the Spirit Condensation Realm, they who were still in the Spirit Sense Realm would be just like ants before him. Even those who were at the Peak of the Spirit Sense Realm were no match for a Cultivator at the Spirit Condensation Realm!

“Now that everything is over and done, the candidates that passed this trail are 4 among you. The first is this boy, Azalon Wheld who reached the Spirit Condensation Realm from the 8th Level of the Spirit Sense Realm, and he will be awarded 10 points. The second is the girl Sophie Wheld who reached the Peak of the Spirit Sense Realm from the 7th Level of the Spirit Sense Realm. She will be awarded 8 points.”

“The third candidate is Kazan Hin; he too reached the Peak of the Spirit Sense Realm from 8th Level, will be 6 points. The fourth candidate is Hari Reran, who reached the Peak of the Spirit Sense Realm from the 8th Level and 6 points. The others will be shown out by someone. As for you four, follow me.” Elder Vanko turned around and swiftly made a beeline for a mountain at the side of the garden.

The candidates were all filled with bitterness and hopelessness as they stared after the five figures that were moving farther away from them. This distance between them right now would only grow more farther and farther as these four would have a chance to soar into the skies and they, the failures, would always stay on the ground only to look up at the vast skies and envy the luck of the birds that could fly!

The four of them quietly followed behind the Elder Vanko and Azalon felt slightly amused and sad at the dwindled number than those that followed this very same Elder when they passed the Preliminary Test!

Azalon had to admit that the selection procedures of the academies were truly rigorous. They selected 4 candidates out of the hundreds of them when they were at the beginning. And these were not even the real tests as per the words of that old Elder.

Azalon shook in head slightly but he understood the reason behind such strict requirements set by the Academies. It was better to have one good talent that could be nurtured to be a great power over time than having hundreds of trash!

“It’s just how the world works” Azalon sighed in his heart as he felt a tinge of pity for those who failed after coming to this stage. They were here not only for themselves but also they bore the burden of the hopes and aspirations of their families for them on their shoulders. He still remembered the sight of the parents of a candidate at the Blue Wind City whose energies within their bodies were so erratic and chaotic that they clearly over worked to their bones, but they still had a grateful and hopeful smile on their faces for their child to succeed in the Academy Selections and reach higher stages in their life.

But reality was not a caring mother that would pamper every one!

Only those who had some high talents or peculiar abilities could have higher chances to walk farther on the road of Cultivation and reach for the higher Realms.

Only those on whom the Heavens would smile would have the luck that would accompany them and push them from the back whenever they face some challenges.

But who could those who don’t have them blame? Fate? Destiny? Luck? or God? In Azalon’s view, they can only blame themselves! They were not strong enough or confident enough to push themselves harder to reach their goals. They can only blame themselves for their shortcomings. If they could have worked harder, who knows, may be they would be the ones walking behind this Elder instead of these four.

Azalon quickly came out of his brooding when he heard a rumbling sound. He looked up and saw the same light symbols he had seen formed by Elder Vanko when the mountain gate opened being formed once again. But with his new cultivation and his senses that have become exceedingly sensitive towards any forms of Energy, he could now see or more than feel that Elder Vanko was manipulating the Spirit Energy in the surroundings and his own to form the symbols that floated before him.

Elder Vanko swiftly formed dozen or so symbols that were pulsing with a bright light and brought his palms together. Immediately the symbols floating before him arranged themselves into a symbol formation that looked like a simplified version of the formation he made earlier. He immediately flicked his hand and a small drop of blood landed on the symbol formation. The symbol formation buzzed slightly and with a swoosh, it landed on the side of the mountain.

Azalon had been expecting another mountain gate but when the symbol formation landed on the side of the mountain, only a small part of the mountain opened up to reveal a well laid path of blue stones.

“Follow me and don’t touch anything you see in the path.” Elder Vanko warned them with a grave tone. Azalon was not sure what those words meant, but he could say that Elder Vanko was really being serious when he said that and this was not another test or something like that.

With Elder Vanko leading the way, the four of them walked into the tunnel like path. Once they were inside, the mountain side that was opened quickly closed behind them plunging them into darkness. Azalon felt a quick burst of panic in his heart as this reminded him of the black world he had seen in the dream world. But that panic immediately subsided when bright lights started appearing on the walls at regular intervals illuminating the tunnel.

Azalon could see that the entire tunnel was made of blue stones that were cut into small rectangles and placed in an orderly but a mystical fashion. The bright light from the walls reflected off these blue stones dying their entire world blue.

“This is one of the ways to reach the ‘Seven Immortal Pagoda’ where you will undergo the final and the most important test before you become eligible to join the Academies.” Elder Vanko spoke with a light smile as he recalled the time when he himself walked through a tunnel like this many years ago. He was a young master of his family back then with a [Golden Scaled Winged Serpent] as his Soul Spirit with his Cultivation at the Middle Level Spirit Condensation Realm. And now he became a Heaven Core Realm Cultivator and he was one of the Elders in his Academy.

He looked back at the four youngsters that were following him and felt a bit proud of himself. He had his family behind him that provided him with rare and precious medicinal herbs and Spirit coins to purchase the medicinal pills that could help in his advancement in the Cultivation. He even apprenticed himself to a Grand – Master Tier Rune Formations Master and learned the array formations to the Master Tier.

But looking at this batch of four that had none of those, he suddenly felt pity. He knew that the ruthless and competitive world within the Academies would simply gobble up these village bumpkins.

He didn’t say anything, though, and simply walked forward. Azalon and the others who were watching the tunnel with interest quickly scrambled behind him.

Azalon’s interest was caught by the lights on the wall. They were not like the electric bulbs back in Earth, but they were more like miniature balls of light that were simply floating in the air. But they were clearly crystals with a small ball of light within them. He didn’t know how they functioned or even manufactured if that was how these things came into existence. He stopped by a light stone and extended his hand just to hover an inch above the bright crystal. He didn’t touch it in order not to disturb it but he didn’t feel anything from the crystal and also because of the warning Elder Vanko gave them when they entered the tunnel. But what surHe couldn’t even feel any kinds of fluctuations of Energy emitting from the crystal either.

“Amazing.” Azalon gasped at this small crystal that was glowing with a bright light.

“Those are called ‘Sun Stones’. They form when the normal crystals absorb the sunlight was trapped within them and with enough time, the sunlight will conglomerate to form a light source that will exist independently within the crystal. All it needs is to be placed in the sun for a while and they will replenish themselves. It is an useful tool to have for Cultivators or even common mortals. The Academies all own their own mines that would mine these kinds of crystals and much more. You will come across them when you manage to pass the ‘Seven Immortal Pagoda’ and join the Academies. Now don’t dawdle around much and quickly come!” Elder Vanko who had walked 20 steps when Azalon stopped to examine the sun stones provided a simple explanation and urged them to move faster.

The other three except for Sophie who only had a small smile on her ice cold face were all staring daggers at him when the Elder scolded him. If not for this guy gobbling up all the Spirit Energy in the surroundings, they would have broke through to the Spirit Condensation Realm when they cultivated in the garden!

But this guy had to come and ruin all that! How could they not be jealous and angry to have such a good tasty morsel be taken away just when they were about to swallow it? And even more, if their strength grew, their chances of passing the Academy Selections would also increase, even if it was just a bit!

They quickly passed through the tunnel and even though the tunnel was not long, the monotonous blue stones, even though it was beautiful to look at, quickly got boring. But that was only for the other three. Azalon quickly found out why the Elder had warned them not to touch anything here. He could sense strong fluctuations of Energy coming from under the blue stones and the sheer number of the stones from which he could sense these Energy fluctuations scared Azalon out of his wits! They were all traps placed all over the tunnel!

After about fifteen minutes, they walked out the blue stone tunnel and walked into a valley. The valley was large and covered on all sides by the slopes of the mountains. In the middle of the valley stood a single large building that was glittering brightly in the glaring sunlight.

It was a tall tower like structure with a heptagon like shape and was divided into 8 floors. It was 200 meters in height and was appeared to be completely constructed by slabs of gemstones making the entire structure look almost like a massive gemstone. Only the ground floor was simple and looked to be constructed of normal stone. Each floor was made of a different color and almost 30 meters in width and was smaller than the previous making the tower like a thin and tall pyramid or a Chinese pagoda Azalon had seen on Earth. A group of floating lights formed three bright words in the language of this world or at least this region,above the tower that was visible even in the sunlight.

“Seven Immortal Pagoda”.

They all looked around only to see that there were different groups of candidates that were emerging from the same tunnel like structures at different locations in the mountains that were surrounding this place led by various Elders just like them. Each group contained four or five candidates that were the same as them but there were also larger groups that had more than 20! All the candidates quickly gathered with their Spirits standing at their sides. Azalon spread out his senses and did a quick head count to come at a number 197.

When he spread out his senses, quite a number of heads turned towards him. Azalon calculated there were about 40 of them at the Spirit Condensation Realm just like him and the rest of the candidates were all at the peak of the Spirit Sense Realm and he also sensed that there were a handful of candidates whose cultivation levels he couldn’t see through but he could feel some strong Energy fluctuations on their bodies. Clearly, they were at a higher level than him and likely the most powerful of this group of candidates.

Azalon suddenly felt a burst of wind and swirled around only to see that the ground floor of the pagoda now has seven doors

“Now, you can all go in to the pagoda. This test has no time limit. In fact you can stay as long as you want within the Seven Immortal Pagoda itself. Of course, that is under the condition that you can stay inside. The qualifications to pass this test is also very simple. If you can reach the first floor of the pagoda, you will have qualified the test. If you reach the second floor, you will be a good candidate. If you can reach the third, it will be outstanding. As for the fourth, you will be a genius with unlimited potential. The floors from the fifth to the seventh are… ” An Elder who led another group than Azalon who started talking when all of them gathered and stopped mid speech and swept his gaze on all of them and smiled with a smile that was not a smile. “I don’t think you are qualified to reach that floors. But if you can reach the fifth floor, you will have a chance to become a personal disciple to one of the Elders here. As for the sixth and seventh, hehehe…” He suddenly laughed weirdly and they could all sense the slight ridicule present in that laugh. Some of the youngsters had unconvinced expressions on their faces especially those ones who had higher cultivation levels than Azalon.

Azalon simply shook his head as he saw the expressions of them. The tests conducted by the Academies till now had such high difficulty to pass, and this is the final test! Even an idiot can sense how difficult this test was going to be!

Azalon didn’t know what he would encounter within this pagoda but he had pretty much eliminated the Cultivators at the Spirit Sense Realm to pass the second floor, if he was to believe the words of the Elder who spoke about the categorization of the candidates based on the floor they reach.

It all came down to the Spirit Condensation Realm candidates and fortunately he had been lucky enough to reach that Realm in both types of Energy of his Spirits. He still didn’t exactly find out what changes appeared in his body, but he will find out sooner or later.

“Go in, the difficulty of the test will be decided by your innate talent and your age.” The Elder simply waved his hand and all the candidates immediately rushed in like a tide.

Azalon turned his head to look at the other three in his group and especially at the only girl within. He lightly sighed and said in a low voice to Sophie. “Stick with me if you can.” After all, she was his cousin and his family. Naturally, he wasn’t going to leave her like that. With that he slowly walked towards one of the openings in the pagoda without looking back. He didn’t care about the other two who had rushed past him when he started moving.

Sophie was surprised when she heard Azalon’s words. She lightly bit her lower lip and stood there for a few breaths. No one knew what she was thinking. Just when Azalon walked around ten steps, a helpless expression appeared on her face as she quickly rushed towards Azalon.

They both entered the ground floor of the pagoda and disappeared from view…