Chapter 4: Arcavis Path!

Ten days later. Taylor Yale arrived at Azurehold Arcavis Academy. The Azurehold mountains stretched for a thousand miles, ridge after ridge locked together, with clouds and mist forever coiling around their midsections. It looked like something torn from an immortal's painting. Within Azurehold alone, the population numbered in the hundreds of millions. And Azurehold Arcavis Academy was the dream of countless young people. For ordinary folk, joining the Arcavis Academy was the only way to change their fate. But getting in was brutally hard. A true one-in-ten-thousand shot. Taylor had passed a special written assessment, which put him under a special admission quota. If he had taken the standard exam, he would not have stood a chance. Every regular slot had already been promised long before the tests even began. Before long, he reached a grand hall at the foot of the mountain. Three entrances stood open. The left gate was the special admission quota passage. It was empty, except for him. The far-right gate was for regular admissions, and a long line had already formed there. As for the middle passage, it was the stuff of legend: the Arcavis Path. Arcavis Sword Master Ye Guan had left it behind personally. If any candidate suffered unfair treatment within the Academy, they could walk this path. If they cleared its trials, Azurehold Arcavis Academy would immediately enter a "self-audit" process. All Arcavis Guards in Azurehold, along with Azurehold's realm wardens, would move into the Academy at once to protect the challenger. If the challenger died without cause, the Arcavis Realm's Arcavis Academy Main Academy would also begin its own "self-audit." At the same time, the head of the challenger's state academy and every elder in the elders' council would be suspended on the spot pending investigation. All Arcavis Guards and all realm wardens of that state would be dismissed… Every state had an Arcavis Path. Yet over a thousand years, across all of Myriadhold, only one person had ever passed its trials, and that had been nearly a century ago. People in the regular admissions line noticed Taylor and stared at him with a mix of curiosity and awe. Special admission quota. That was not just impressive. That was untouchable. Under a shower of envious looks, Taylor walked into the hall. A young man sat behind the desk inside, around twenty, dressed in a long robe, handsome in a clean-cut way. He sprang to his feet when he saw Taylor, enthusiasm spilling out of him. "Finally, someone showed up. Hi. I'm Zeke Zamora. I handle reception for special admission quota students." Taylor pulled a sheet of paper from his chest and handed it over. Zeke took it, read it carefully, and after confirming everything, smiled. "Arcavis Academy welcomes you." He reached for his stamp. Just then, a black-clad teenage boy hurried over, leaned in, and whispered a few words into Zeke's ear. Zeke's smile froze. His brows drew together at once. After a moment of silence, he looked up at Taylor. "Wait." He pulled the stamp back, then rose with the black-clad boy and left in a hurry. Taylor watched them go. He gathered his document, his brow tightening. Could the Zorn family reach even this place? That had to be impossible. Even so, a thread of unease crept into his chest. Elsewhere… Zeke sprinted up the mountain and burst into another hall. The instant he stepped inside, an old man's roar shook the room. "What the hell is this? Trying to shove privilege down my throat?" Beside the old man, a middle-aged man kept his head down, not daring to make a sound. Zeke walked in, bewildered. "Teacher… what's going on?" The old man's face was dark as storm clouds. "We just got word. The Santee family wants a special admission quota slot. They want us to cancel one of our special admission quota students." Zeke gaped. "How can that be allowed? The special admission quota is already set. Cancel it? What kind of joke is this?" The old man's gaze turned icy. "Orders came from above." Zeke's expression sank. Above… meaning the Academy's elders' council. He hesitated, then asked carefully, "Teacher, this Santee family… is it the Santee family from Austrhold?" The old man nodded, face still livid. Zeke's face fell even further. Austrhold's Santee family was a second-tier Aristocratic Family Sect. And their ancestor had once called the Arcavis Sword Master a brother. Zeke frowned. "But they're in Austrhold. Why are they fighting us in Azurehold for a special admission quota slot?" Frost seemed to settle over the old man's features. "Their slot in Austrhold got pushed out." Zeke stared. "Someone could push out the Santee family's slot?" The old man shook his head. "I don't know the details. I only know this: the people above want us to cancel one special admission quota student. It has to be done." Zeke's voice turned heavy. "That's not fair to the student. Not even close." The middle-aged man sighed quietly. "It's unfair, sure, but what can we do? It's a direct order from the elders' council…" The old man sat with his jaw clenched, saying nothing. Zeke asked, "Who do they want us to cut?" The middle-aged man said, "We only have two special admission quota students this time. One is Taylor Yale from the Inferior Family Yale family, and the other is from the Twyman family…" Zeke understood instantly. The Twyman family's slot could not be touched. They were also a second-tier family. They had people in the Outer Cabinet, and they had old ties to the Arcavis Sword Master's father, the Human Sword Master. That left only one target. Taylor. He was not from the Yale family of Azurehold. He was only from an Inferior Family. "No." The old man suddenly slammed the table and stood. "This is beyond shameless. They're doing something this filthy and they're doing it in broad daylight. I'm going to the elders' council. If they don't rescind the order, I'll take it to the Arcavis Realm Inner Cabinet." He turned and strode for the door. The middle-aged man panicked and rushed to block him. "Lord Malcolm Farrell, you can't. The elders' council has already issued the order. You…" Malcolm shoved him aside. "Then I'll stop being this damn official." He stormed out. The middle-aged man let out another low sigh. "Lord Malcolm Farrell's temperament… no wonder he kept getting demoted in the Outer Cabinet until he was finally driven out of the Arcavis Realm." Zeke's face remained grim. "It shouldn't be like this. We should fight it." The middle-aged man shook his head. "You can't fight the Santee family. Unless Taylor Yale's background is even bigger than theirs, nobody can change this." Zeke's anger flared. "But how is this fair to Taylor?" The middle-aged man stayed calm. "There's plenty in this world that isn't fair. If you don't have strength, if you don't have backing, you swallow it." Thinking of the Santee family's terrifying influence, Zeke could only sigh too, helplessness filling his eyes. … Malcolm charged straight into the elders' council. Only one elder was present. The elder frowned the moment Malcolm entered, irritation plain on his face. "What are you doing here?" No place liked a thorn that refused to fit in. If Malcolm's identity were not somewhat special, Azurehold Arcavis Academy would have kicked him out long ago. Malcolm knew the man disliked him, so he skipped the pleasantries. "What the Santee family is doing is unfair to that child, Taylor Yale. It's against the rules. The Academy shouldn't open a back door for them." The elder stared at him, voice dark. "This is an order from the elders' council. You just execute it." "I won't." Malcolm met his gaze head-on. "If you insist on doing this, I'll report it. I'll report it to the Arcavis Realm. To the Outer Cabinet. If the Outer Cabinet won't act, I'll go to the Inner Cabinet. If the Inner Cabinet won't act, I'll go to the young lord…" The elder fought down his anger. "Malcolm Farrell, don't start trouble." Malcolm snapped, "The Academy's recruitment concerns the Arcavis Universe's grand talent selection. If we don't act with fairness, if we let Aristocratic Family Sects and the powerful do whatever they want, then what hope do ordinary people have left?" He drew a deep breath, forcing his tone down. "Elder Vernell, Taylor Yale comes from an Inferior Family. He might be his entire family's hope. If we strip his special admission quota qualification away, it won't only ruin his future. It could crush his whole family's last bit of light." Elder Vernell watched him closely. "Malcolm Farrell, you're defending Taylor Yale this hard. Is he your relative?" Malcolm's hands curled into fists. "I don't know him. I'm saying the Academy should be fair and just, so more young people, more ordinary people, can have hope and a future. That was the Arcavis Sword Master's original intent when he founded the Academy." Elder Vernell was about to speak when his brow suddenly furrowed. After a brief pause, he said, "Go. Leave." Malcolm gave him a long look, then turned and walked out. After he left, disgust flashed through Elder Vernell's eyes. "Stubborn. No wonder he got pushed around in the Arcavis Realm." A moment later, another old man stepped out from the side, smiling. "I've heard the Farrell family isn't easy to deal with. Seeing it today, the rumors were true." The old man was Augustine Santee, the current head of the Santee family. Elder Vernell said in a low voice, "Brother Santee, this might be difficult to handle." If it were anyone else, the elders' council had a hundred ways to make them disappear. But Malcolm Farrell was not ordinary. Behind him stood the Farrell family. The Farrell family was only a third-tier Aristocratic Family Sect these days, but their ancestor, Azrael Farrell, had once shared an extraordinary relationship with the Arcavis Sword Master. Back then, Azrael Farrell had not only overseen the Inspection Court, he had even risen to the position of Deputy Chief of the Inner Cabinet. The Farrell family later declined because the Arcavis Sword Master decreed that no office could be held for more than a hundred years. Of course, their fall was not solely because Azrael stepped down. It was also because the Farrell family obeyed Azrael's ancestral rule: live without shame in your heart. In other words, the Farrell family was too upright. Upright to the point others could not stand them. So they were gradually squeezed out. Yet because of their ancestor's legacy, the Arcavis Realm's super families never wiped them out. They only pushed them out of the core circles of power. By this point, the highest-ranked Farrell held nothing more than a deputy post in the "Academy of Literature" within the Arcavis Realm. High status. No real authority. Marcel Santee understood the Farrell family's peculiar position as well. He smiled. "Of course we can't touch Malcolm Farrell." Elder Vernell looked at Marcel Santee. "Then what do you suggest, Brother Santee?" Marcel Santee's smile deepened slightly. "What if that boy, Taylor Yale, gives up the special admission quota slot of his own free will?" Elder Vernell paused, then understood. "And if he refuses?" Marcel Santee smiled faintly. "If he doesn't want to do it the dignified way, we'll help him be dignified."