The pale gray incense slowly burned as the surrounding youths could already barely manage to perform the vein technique.
But Yue Qingli had only just finished memorizing the content.
Watching the other nine participants one by one succeed, he grew more and more anxious.
And the more anxious he got, the more mistakes he made.
“All right, time’s up,” said the elder sitting at the front, slowly opening his eyes and speaking calmly.
The ten students immediately stopped their comprehension.
After all, continuing beyond the time limit would result in immediate disqualification.
“Show me the meridian techniques you’ve understood.”
The students exchanged glances, filled with competitive energy.
They each began to demonstrate Aeonic Blade Slash, and the elder’s face remained expressionless.
Unless a student truly impressed him, he had seen far too many like these.
When it came to Yue Qingli’s turn, he just stood there, unsure what to do.
The elder frowned and looked at him.
“Teacher, I couldn’t learn it,” Yue Qingli hesitated for a moment and finally said with difficulty.
“Three-Eyed Demon Race members are all trash. Where do they get the confidence to try for the Sacred Academy?”
“Maybe he just wanted to try his luck. It’s not like it costs him anything.”
The surrounding students, now more relaxed after finishing their test, began mocking him.
Many of them already looked down on the Three-Eyed Race.
The elder was slightly stunned. In all the exams he had conducted, he had only ever seen differences in how well students learned a technique, never someone who couldn’t learn it at all.
“All right, next group,” the elder waved his hand.
He signaled the nearby youths to quiet down. He didn’t want to waste more time.
“Teacher, please give me another chance. I swear I’ll succeed this time,”
Yue Qingli pleaded with a pained expression.
“Everyone is treated equally. There are no second chances,” the elder said calmly.
“Teacher, please… Let me into Vermilion Bird Academy. I swear, I’ll work harder than anyone else.”
Yue Qingli kept shaking his head, begging.
“I believe you’ll work hard, and I believe if I gave you another chance, you might learn this technique,” the elder said indifferently. “But you must understand, we’re not just looking for people who can learn the technique, we’re looking for the best.”
Yue Qingli fell silent.
He thought of his race, of his naive but lofty childhood dreams.
Vermilion Bird Academy was his only chance.
Only by joining it could he find a broader world.
Becoming a rogue cultivator offered almost no chance to grow.
He looked up, the sky was overcast, ominous and heavy.
Transparent raindrops began to fall, cold against his skin.
“Teacher, I really have no other path. I’m willing to bet my life and everything on cultivating. Please just give me a chance.”
Yue Qingli continued to beg.
Even though he knew there was little hope, he wasn’t willing to give up.
The elder’s expression remained unchanged. He had seen all kinds of people over the years.
If he opened the door for one person, it would be impossible to close it again.
“Kid, if you didn’t pass, then leave. Don’t waste other people’s time,” someone in the queue said irritably.
“Three-Eyed freaks are disgusting. No talent, and still here playing the pity card.”
“If it were me, I’d be too ashamed to stick around.”
“Pitiful people always have some pathetic reason.”
“Someone drag him aside. He’s blocking the way.”
As voices around him grew louder, two students grabbed Yue Qingli by the clothes and threw him to the side.
His body slammed into the ground.
He rubbed his eyes, rainwater and tears mixing together.
The rain grew heavier. Others shielded themselves with spiritforce.
Only he was drenched like a soaked dog.
He lay there lifelessly, as if his soul had left his body.
“Zhou Haoran, passed.”
The elder continued announcing the names of those who passed. People still whispered about Yue Qingli.
There was only one thought in his mind: the chance he’d hoped for was gone.
The Three-Eyed Demon Race were born slow. Those who hadn’t awakened their third eye were mocked by all races.
Even though he had tried so hard, he still hadn’t changed his fate.
In the race’s history, a few ancestors had awakened the third eye.
But even those ancestors didn’t know how it had happened.
One day, it just opened on its own.
To this day, awakening the third eye remained a mystery for the race.
The cold rain on his face made him feel even more awake.
Maybe it was foolish to try and defy fate. Maybe being useless wasn’t such a bad life.
The sound of footsteps, tap tap tap, reached his ears.
He suddenly realized the rain had stopped falling on him.
Yue Qingli slowly opened his eyes and saw a young man standing over him.
The man was holding up a rain cover, standing at his head.
Still lying on the ground, Yue Qingli looked up blankly at him.
He recognized the young man, he was the one Yue Qingli had stolen the money pouch from days ago.
“What do you want?” he asked Xu Zimo calmly.
“There are countless paths in this world. Do you want to enter Vermilion Bird Academy that badly?” Xu Zimo asked.
“For a rogue cultivator, what better choice is there than entering an academy? Especially for someone from the Three-Eyed Race,” Yue Qingli replied bitterly.
Xu Zimo understood. Besides these non-discriminatory academies, the Three-Eyed Race had almost no place in other factions.
All because of deep-seated bias.
“Keep working hard,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile. “I believe that one day, the Three-Eyed Race will rise and shatter the world’s prejudice.”
Then he turned to leave.
He wasn’t just trying to comfort Yue Qingli. If the future timeline hadn’t changed, the Three-Eyed Race would produce a divine figure in this generation.
That person would lead the race, once weak and overlooked, to become a powerful force.
At that time, even the Thirty-Six Empires would have to take them seriously.
Who would dare look down on them then?
“Thanks. I guess we’re... acquaintances now,” Yue Qingli said.
He took Xu Zimo’s words as mere comfort.
Still, having someone speak kindly to him at such a moment was rare.
Watching Xu Zimo’s back as he walked away, Yue Qingli sat up and gave a bitter smile.
“My name is Yue Qingli!”
“Wait, Yue Qingli the Immortal God?!”
Xu Zimo suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning around in surprise.