Until the evening glow at the edge of the sky was gradually overtaken by the night, Brian Brooks finally lifted his head, having finished reading the entire ancient martial arts manual. In his heart, he now had a much more comprehensive understanding of the Ancient Martial Realm.

“Those with strong vital energy possess boundless strength; those who seal their bodies have unparalleled precision. Once the meridians are supplemented... the physical body reaches its peak!” Brian Brooks took a deep breath, recalling the scene of the red-clothed youth Henry Brooks striking a mountain, and a fiery excitement slowly appeared in his eyes.

“To become the Federation President, ancient martial arts is a must. Besides, practicing ancient martial arts can help with weight loss—it's simply killing several birds with one stone.” Feeling invigorated, Brian Brooks was about to start practicing when his expression suddenly changed. He raised his right hand and rummaged in his arms, taking out half of a black mask.

Staring at the mask, Brian Brooks looked thoughtful. He couldn’t forget how, during the assessment, the mask had become ethereal and blurry text had appeared on it.

“This is definitely a treasure!” Brian Brooks’s heart began to race. Both his parents worked in archaeology-related fields, which was why their home was filled with all sorts of seemingly tattered artifacts.

Brian Brooks had often fantasized that perhaps some treasure was hidden among these antiques. But from childhood to now, he had played with almost every antique, even secretly dripped blood on them, yet none had ever shown anything extraordinary.

Now, holding the mask, he studied it carefully again. Aside from its slightly cold material, he still didn’t sense anything unusual. Finally, he realized that it was only in the special environment of the assessment that the mask had changed, and his eyes lit up.

“Looks like I need to borrow a similar magical artifact. Maybe I can unlock the secret of this mask!” With this thought, seeing that it was already late and feeling a bit tired, Brian Brooks returned to his cave residence, happily organizing his luggage. His small bag didn’t contain many clothes; it was mostly filled with all sorts of odd and curious items, including a very large loudspeaker.

“Each of these is an official’s treasure I’ve collected. If I hadn’t lost my luggage in the dream, I wouldn’t have had to work so hard!” Looking at the treasures in his bag, Brian Brooks yawned contentedly. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly shivered and sat up abruptly.

“Can’t get carried away. There are plenty of stories in high officials’ autobiographies—those who get complacent often end up in trouble!” Brian Brooks took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and began to ponder the looks from the teachers during the day and the attitude of the goateed man. Summing up his special admission status, the answer was already becoming clear.

“They must have noticed something…” As Brian Brooks analyzed this, a chill ran down his spine.

“I have to keep a low profile for a while, best if I’m invisible… Otherwise, things could get bad!” Worry crept into Brian Brooks’s heart. He didn’t want to lose everything he had now, and in his headache, he couldn’t help but lament that his disadvantage was not having a powerful backer.

“I need to think of a way to find a backer as soon as possible.”

Time flew by, and three days passed. As the lists for each department were announced, this year’s students all moved into their respective department peaks. Once the academy rules and regulations were mastered by the newcomers, life at the Dao Academy was about to get on track.

During these three days, Brian Brooks kept a very low profile, starting to practice the ancient martial arts manual and barely stepping outside his cave residence, afraid of attracting the attention of the goateed man. He thought that if he could just get through this period, things would be much safer.

But although his wish was good, as the students settled in, stories of what happened on their way here and during the regional assessments began to spread on the Dao Academy’s spiritual network, quickly becoming a hot topic.

After all, this time, with nearly a hundred hot air balloon airships and nearly a hundred simultaneous regional assessments, quite a few eye-catching new talents had emerged.

“Have you heard? Among the new students from Tianyun City, there’s someone named Nathaniel Cooper who set up traps to slay a Frost Lizard—he’s really impressive!”

“That’s nothing. I heard that in the Phoenix City assessment, there was a powerhouse named Henry Brooks who was just a step away from reaching the second level of ancient martial arts, the Body Sealing Realm. He even received olive branches from eight departments at once—his reputation is tremendous!” As the various departments on Lower Academy Island discussed on the spiritual network, more and more names were brought up.

“The most dazzling this time is Emma Brooks. Rumor has it she’s a natural spiritual body, able to refine spirit stones with eighty percent purity. She could have entered the Federation’s top White Deer Dao Academy, but our Misty Dao Academy paid a huge price to recruit her!”

“Emma Brooks is indeed extraordinary, but there’s another person who’s just as outstanding, maybe even more so—Evan Turner. It’s said he was born with Ink Star Eyes, and whenever he activates them, everything he sees slows down. He’s already at the peak of the Body Sealing Realm, and his identity is mysterious—rumor has it he’s one of the Five Generations of the Celestial Clan, and the Battle Martial Department has already reserved him with their authority!”

Amidst all this heated discussion, one new talent after another rose to fame. Even some of the older students felt immense pressure after hearing these stories. As for Brian Brooks, even though he wanted to keep a low profile, his special admission status and his performance during the assessment, spread by the hundreds of students from the Phoenix City assessment, made him shine as brightly as the stars.