Compared to Tianqi City, Great Yan City was completely different, both in architectural style and local customs.
Looking around, there were no luxurious ancient palaces here. Instead, there were rows of bamboo buildings and cottages built over the water.
Of course, this bamboo was certainly no ordinary bamboo. It was a common spiritual material of heaven and earth, and its quality was top-notch.
Most of the people here had wine-red hair and relatively coarse skin, and they were all quite tall.
“Every region has its own unique environment and people. Since the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty is built upon a fire-attribute spiritual vein, its architecture and customs are naturally different from ours.”
The flying vessel slowly came to a halt at the gates of Great Yan City. The Principal explained this to everyone while stepping forward to present their credentials to the guards.
Before long, the credentials were verified, and Ye Lin's group finally set foot inside the imperial capital of Great Yan.
Although the architecture looked somewhat primitive from high above, walking through the city itself felt little different from any other bustling city.
The bustling streets, shops, restaurants, street stalls, and entertainment venues that one would expect were all present.
The Principal had been to Great Yan City many times, so he was quite familiar with the procedures.
A quarter of an hour later, he led everyone to the temporary lodging designated for those from the Yellow-grade Cultivation Academies.
“A standard room is two thousand mid-grade spirit stones per person per day.”
To their surprise, the Deacon responsible for arranging the lodgings demanded an exorbitant price.
“These rooms were specifically built by the academy for the lower-grade academies coming from all over. They have never charged a fee before.”
“On what basis are you charging us now? Aren't you afraid of the academy's Hall of Discipline?”
Seeing that the middle-aged fat man demanded two thousand mid-grade spirit stones per person right off the bat, the executives and disciples of the other Yellow-grade Cultivation Academies ahead of Ye Lin were filled with shock.
Two thousand mid-grade spirit stones was equivalent to twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones, and that was per day.
The promotion assessment would last for two to three days, meaning each person would have to spend at least sixty thousand spirit stones just for lodging.
If they added miscellaneous expenses like meals, or maybe even a fee for breathing, who could possibly afford it?
“If you don't want to stay, you can get lost. But if you don't stay in our academy's rooms, it means you don't agree with our academy's philosophy. In that case, there's no need for you to participate in the promotion assessment. Go back to where you came from.”
“Of course, if you're not satisfied, you can go complain to the Hall of Discipline. Feel free to sue me.”
Seeing everyone's fury, the middle-aged fat man, Wu Yong, sneered disdainfully.
His attitude made it perfectly clear: I have a backer, and I'm here to swindle your money. If you're smart, hand it over. If you don't, scram back home and forget about the promotion assessment.
At this sight, the faces of the disciples and executives from those academies turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
This promotion assessment concerned the allocation of resources for a Yellow-grade Cultivation Academy for the next ten years.
Even if they couldn't achieve stellar results in the assessment, they could still get a baseline reward to ensure their Yellow-grade Cultivation Academy's survival.
As cultivators who had risen from the bottom, everyone knew how cruel and unjust the cultivation world was. Although they were currently in the era of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Races, the truth was that conflicts between the myriad races had never ceased.
In fact, the struggles between the various races had never stopped, and the internal conflicts and exploitation within each race were no different.
This included many of the geniuses and elders from the Yellow-grade Cultivation Academies attending this assessment. Back at their own academies, they also stood high above ordinary cultivators.
It was just that now they were on the turf of a Mysterious-grade Cultivation Academy. The roles were reversed, and they had become the oppressed, weaker party.
The strong devouring the weak, and might making right, had always been the eternal, unchanging law of this world.
“Fine, we'll pay!” Gritting their teeth, the principals and elders of those Yellow-grade Cultivation Academies ultimately handed over the required amount of spirit stones.
“See? In the end, didn't you still have to obediently hand over the spirit stones? You just had to ramble on for so long, wasting my time.”
Holding several spatial rings stuffed with spirit stones in one hand, Wu Yong mockingly threw several tokens right in the faces of the people from those Yellow-grade Cultivation Academies.
Though furious, the elders and geniuses did not dare to speak up. With dark faces, they could only turn around and head to their rooms.
“Hurry up. I'm going out drinking at a brothel tonight, and I don't have time to waste on a bunch of country bumpkins like you.”
Seeing that everyone else had obediently paid and left while the people from Tianyuan Academy remained standing in place without moving, Wu Yong immediately spoke with impatience.
Hearing this, the people from the other academies who had just departed couldn't help but slow their pace.
When forced to bow their heads, some people would subconsciously feel that everyone else should do the same, lest they stand out. Clearly, the people from those academies held this exact mindset.
It was as if seeing others suffer the same setback could soothe their own sense of loss.
“Yeah, hurry up and give us our room tokens already. Stop wasting our fucking time here.”
Before Jiang Lingyuan and the other high-ranking executives could speak, Qi Changqing, the young master of a great clan from the Sacred Domain, stepped forward directly.
As soon as those words were uttered, the people from the other academies were stunned. Then, they couldn't help but turn their heads to watch the show.
After all, this Deacon was a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator with the backing of a Mysterious-grade Cultivation Academy. Offending him would surely end in disaster.
Boom!
Sure enough, when the fat Wu Yong heard Qi Changqing speak in a manner even more overbearing than his own, he instantly blew his top.
“Good, good, good! A trash Foundation Establishment cultivator from some backwater actually dares to act arrogant before me—”
Boom!
Wu Yong's eyes were cold. He was preparing to finish his threat, slap Qi Changqing half to death, and demonstrate his supreme, inviolable authority.
But before he could finish his sentence, a giant spatial hand suddenly seized him.
Then, dozens of slaps rained down on his face like a torrential downpour.
“Damn it... You dare attack... Ahhh...”
Wu Yong, whose face was instantly swollen like a pig's head, was furious. He wanted to retaliate with all his might, but he found that his body felt as though it were being crushed by giant mountains. Even moving a single inch was incredibly difficult.
This was, of course, the suppression from Ye Lin's Three Thousand Heavy Waters Domain.
“Why waste words on him? Just beat him.”
After a heavy slap knocked out several of Wu Yong's molars and knocked him unconscious, Ye Lin casually snatched all the spatial rings off the man's body.
Following his lightning-fast strike, the atmosphere in the entire area instantly became so quiet that a falling pin could be heard.
Just then, another elder from a Yellow-grade Cultivation Academy arrived with their disciples.
Seeing this scene, the elder was so terrified that they hurriedly handed a pre-prepared spatial ring over to Ye Lin.
Clearly, this elder had gotten wind of the situation beforehand and had prepared all the spirit stones in advance.
Ye Lin didn't return the spirit stones that fell into his hands. Instead, he casually fished out a few tokens from the fat man's spatial ring and tossed them to the elder.
“Thank you, thank you!” The elder of the Yellow-grade Cultivation Academy thanked him with a smile before turning around and leading their disciples away.
Everyone: “...”
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