Chapter 97: Silver Radiance Academy

After the battle, the lounge grew much quieter. Jiang Yan, having rarely used his [Premonition], slept soundly for several hours.

Upon waking, he gazed out the window at the shifting darkness of deep space. The scenery alternated, changing in the blink of an eye as if they had traversed some spatial barrier, traveling countless light-years in an instant.

To pass the boring time, he softly hummed a tune.

Cheng Wu seemed to have recovered from his dejection and approached Jiang Yan again. “Hey, what are you singing? Feels quite fitting, huh.”

Jiang Yan: “My incompetence became my downfall~”

Cheng Wu was momentarily stunned, then his face flushed red as he shrank back again.

Damn, I just showed off a little in front of you—do you have to keep rubbing it in? Blue Star People are terrifying, wuwuwu…

…

Through the transparent window made of an unknown [Material], a watery blue planet grew larger in their view. A silver light barrier tightly enveloped the entire planet, its calm and elegant glow spreading outward, adding an unreal, breathtaking beauty.

The spacecraft soon passed through the light barrier. Inside, Jiang Yan clearly felt the ship slow down noticeably before the sensation vanished in an instant.

Upon entering the massive watery blue planet, the spacecraft’s speed stabilized.

A while later, mechanical friction sounds echoed as the hatch opened, and a beam of light poured into the lounge.

“We’ve arrived. Pack up and disembark.”

Outside, the woman’s cold voice rang out.

After disembarking, a highly futuristic student apartment came into view.

“Jiang Yan, welcome to our Silver Radiance Academy. For the next two semesters, you will study here as an exchange student.

Although the teacher promised to bring a Blue Star Person to our Tianyuan Star for further education, don’t think you can rest easy from now on. If you fail to pass even one of our Silver Radiance Academy’s final [Assessments] in the next two semesters, I will personally send you back to Blue Star.”

The woman spoke without any personal emotion, maintaining a strictly professional attitude as she laid out all the requirements to Jiang Yan.

Then, she turned to Cheng Wu. “From now on, you will share a dorm room with Jiang Yan to help him quickly adapt to the teaching pace of our Silver Radiance Academy.”

“Teacher, I—” Cheng Wu wore a pained expression.

He didn’t want to spend another second in Jiang Yan’s presence. The thought of how he had boasted about his strength at the beginning, only to be defeated in the first round, made his face burn with shame.

The woman: “There are credits.”

Cheng Wu perked up instantly, standing straight as if he had taken a box of stimulants. “Teacher Su, please let me be the one to show Jiang Yan the customs and culture of our Silver Radiance Academy!”

After the woman left, Cheng Wu became incredibly enthusiastic, pulling Jiang Yan toward the dormitory.

“Old Jiang, hurry, hurry! I’ll take you to our dorm.”

“Do you have toiletries? If not, I’ll order some for you right away. Did you bring a mattress? If not, you can use mine. No problem, we’re buddies~”

Jiang Yan looked at the suddenly transformed Cheng Wu with suspicion, unable to understand how his attitude could change so quickly.

“Could it be that credits are extremely valuable to students of Silver Radiance Academy?”

Entering the spacious dormitory, Jiang Yan gave it a quick glance. Each person had their own private bathroom, offering excellent privacy—even if one felt lonely at night and needed to relieve themselves, no one would know.

It was quite suitable for Jiang Yan’s cultivation.

As he began taking items out of his spatial ring, Jiang Yan turned his head to ask Cheng Wu:

“Is the credit the teacher mentioned earlier really that important?”

At the mention of credits, Cheng Wu immediately perked up, explaining enthusiastically, “Of course it’s important. The final assessments at our Silver Radiance Academy are notoriously difficult. Every semester, quite a few people fail to pass, and failing means delayed graduation.”

“If you can accumulate more credits during the regular semester, even if you underperform in the final assessment, there’s still a chance to make up for it.”

After hearing Cheng Wu’s explanation, Jiang Yan understood the importance of credits.

“So, is the final assessment really that difficult?” Jiang Yan asked.

Cheng Wu’s old habit flared up again. He raised the corner of his mouth arrogantly and said, “Of course it’s difficult, but for a genius like me who has opened four apertures, it’s just a piece of cake.”

Jiang Yan stared at Cheng Wu, his tone faintly mocking, his bright eyes piercing through Cheng Wu’s facade. “Then why are you still so concerned about those few credits?”

Cheng Wu stiffened.

“Ah… well… you see…”

Jiang Yan continued tidying up the room.

As he worked, he thought back to what the female teacher had said when they disembarked from the airship.

“If you fail to complete our Silver Radiance Academy’s final assessment even once in the next two semesters, I will personally send you back to Blue Star.”

“If a Martial Artist like Cheng Wu can rely on accumulating credits to pass the final assessment, I should have no problem, right?”

Jiang Yan analyzed objectively, gaining a rough understanding of his own strength.

Cheng Wu was weak, at least in Jiang Yan’s eyes. By the same logic, the final assessment should be easy for him to pass at his current level.

Perhaps those prodigies who had opened more apertures could put up a fight against Jiang Yan—maybe. Jiang Yan hadn’t faced them yet, but he could try later.

His battle with Cheng Wu had given Jiang Yan a preliminary understanding of the Martial Artist system on this planet.

Cheng Wu had opened four apertures and was currently at the fourth stage of the Mystic Aperture Realm. Converted to Blue Star’s standards, this would be equivalent to Fifth Rank Comprehending Mysteries, making him four to five times stronger than Martial Artists of the same realm on Blue Star.

However, Cheng Wu seemed quite young, probably only in his early twenties, and was currently a sophomore. His cultivation speed was far faster than that of Martial Artists on Blue Star.

Jiang Yan speculated that the reason wasn’t just the difference in cultivation resources but might also be related to the so-called aperture points.

Opening one more aperture was like adding another engine, significantly improving cultivation efficiency. This explained why Martial Artists on Tianyuan Star had such a higher level in the Martial Way compared to those on Blue Star.

Jiang Yan now had a question.

“I felt no pressure fighting a Martial Artist who had opened four apertures and was one realm higher than me. So, where exactly are my limits?”

“And how many apertures can the strongest prodigy on Tianyuan Star open?”

Cheng Wu was a decent benchmark for judging strength, but not enough.

After making his bed, Jiang Yan asked Cheng Wu:

“Brother Cheng, could I borrow your communicator? I’d like to learn more about Tianyuan Star.”

Cheng Wu’s face flushed red. His elbow bumped against the doorframe, nearly tearing it off. He stammered, “Well… you see, my communicator isn’t really convenient to lend. How about I take you to buy a new one instead?”

Jiang Yan: “Why are you blushing?”

“Cough, just a surge of Qi and Blood. Four-Aperture Martial Artists are always so energetic.”

Cheng Wu still couldn’t forget his Four-Aperture Martial Artist status.

…

At night, Jiang Yan swiftly manipulated the smart cube in his hand.

Streams of messages flowed like rivers across Jiang Yan’s retina.

Keyword locked: [Prodigy]

“Shocking news: The new generation Snow Maiden from the far north of Heavenly Source has awakened an ancient extreme cold Bloodline, opening thirteen Apertures in succession! She may become the next Snow Lord in the future!”

“Cang Yue, son of the Boundless Martial Hall, born with twelve Apertures and possessing the [Divine Heaven Tyrant Body], ventured alone into the Corpse Secret Realm and returned unscathed!”

…