Chapter 12: Big Brother Changyang Hu
Sitting on top of the flying magical beast, Jian Chen’s face did not reveal any sort of emotion, even though they were flying at an extreme speed 1000 feet high up into the air. Since the beast was flying at such high speeds, he could hear a ceaseless rumbling sound from the wind in his ears.
Looking at Jian Chen’s passive face, Chang Bai couldn’t help but nod in approval. Most children generally paled in extreme fear after flying on top of a magical beast for the first time. Some children trembled in fear the whole time, while a smaller amount even wet themselves, but very few people had achieved the same tranquility as Jian Chen.
Chang Bai thought back to when he had sent Changyang Hu to Kargath Academy a few years back. After sitting on the flying beast, Changyang Hu’s entire body had shivered from fright as he grabbed hold of the feathers on the beast’s neck.
“The fourth master does not seem to be like the others; it truly makes one wonder what sort of accomplishments he will succeed in the future.” Chang Bai thought to himself.
Jian Chen stared at the flying magical beast below him and asked, “Chang Bai, what kind of beast is this, to be flying at such a fast speed?”
“This is only natural!” Chang Bai spoke in a majestic voice, “Fourth master, you shouldn’t underestimate this magical beast. This magical beast is called the Eagle Beast; it is a Class 4 magical beast which is the equivalent of a Great Saint Master. It can fly through the sky at extremely fast speeds, and even though it is barely Class 4, even someone of the same rank of Earth Saint Master would not be able to fight it when it is in the sky.”
“Then that would mean this Eagle Beast is very expensive.” Jian Chen said.
Chang Bai nodded, “That is natural as well. Flying magical beasts are very expensive; not only because they are hard to capture, but hard to tame as well. Even though flying magical beasts are the fastest way of transportation, riding on one is very dangerous. In the case that a magical beast goes out of control, then the rider will be sent falling from thousands of meters in the air. Even with the power of an Earth Saint Master, surviving a fall like that would be unlikely and even if you’re lucky, you will still end up with a fatal injury. Even if it’s a Class 1 or 2 flying magical beast, its price is still very expensive, especially if it has a berserk nature or won’t submit to a human. Therefore, taming a flying magical beast is a very challenging task to accomplish.”
Jian Chen nodded his head before slowly becoming silent once more.
Chang Bai looked at the silent Jian Chen and said, “Fourth master, your older brother Changyang Hu is also at Kargath Academy. It has been a few years already, so becoming a Saint isn’t too far away for him. If you ever come across a problem at the academy, don’t be afraid to ask your older brother to help solve it.”
“Yes, I know.” Jian Chen replied. But his mind felt complicated when he thought of his mysterious older brother. Jian Chen had never seen him before, and he didn’t even know what his brother’s personality was like. He was also very worried about if his older brother would be jealous about his innate skill at cultivating Saint Force, like third brother Changyang Ke was. Being jealous over something like this was not at all uncommon within a big clan. In the previous world, Jian Chen had met all sorts of family strife due to a power struggle between siblings during his time as a traveler.
In Jian Chen’s heart, he desperately hoped that such a situation would not happen to him. In his previous world, he was an orphan who had never experienced any sort of familial love. Since the heavens had blessed him with a family this time, he treasured it deeply.
After the Eagle Beast flew for half the day at an extremely high speed, it finally arrived at Kargath Academy, where under Chang Bai’s control, it descended to a mere 100 meters above ground.
Kargath Academy was established within the plains, with a great wall 10 meters high surrounding it. The academy was extraordinarily big, and the lands it covered were vast as well. Even though Jian Chen was hovering 100 meters above ground, he still couldn’t see the entire academy.
Kargath Academy was the most prestigious academy in the Gesun Kingdom, and today was its annual opening ceremony. For that reason, the front gates were extremely lively. There were many people there, as well as a few luxurious carriages that were parked not too far away. However, Jian Chen couldn’t put names to the types of magical beasts that were pulling the carriages. Virtually every carriage had a few guards protecting them.
In the skies, a few flying magical beasts approached them, descending down onto the academy courtyards. Each of them carried a small child.
Chang Bai instructed the Eagle Beast to fly down towards the courtyards as well, landing them right next to a 100 meter tall tower. He brought Jian Chen directly into the tower. Outside, there were still quite a few flying magical beasts resting there,
Jian Chen and Chang Bai walked to the top of the tower to meet the headmaster of Kargath Academy. The headmaster was not that much different in age than Chang Bai, and Jian Chen had a feeling that the two had some sort of familiarity between them.
Because of this familiarity, Jian Chen could easily enter the academy without any problems. Under the instructions of the headmaster, Jian Chen’s brother Changyang Hu had been called up to the top of the tower as well, allowing him to see the mysterious older brother he had never met before.
Changyang Hu was already 18 years old, the same age as his second sister Changyang Mingyue, but Changyang Mingyue was younger by 3 months.
Changyang Hu was a fairly sturdy teenager who was taller than Jian Chen, and he wore the academy uniform. He had already been enrolled in the academy for over 2 years, and his Saint Force had also reached the peak of the 10th layer. However, he had not yet condensed it into a Saint Weapon.
The distance between the peak of the 10th layer and Sainthood was not big at all, but the moment in between was very important, as condensing the Saint Force into a Saint Weapon was a very challenging task. On the Tian Yuan continent, many people weren’t capable of forming a Saint Weapon since birth, because they lacked the aptitude, as well as the innate skill. According to the headmaster, Changyang Hu had already reached the peak of the 10th layer a year ago and had already tried to form a Saint Weapon 3 times, but only met with failure each time.
However, seeing an 18 year old that could form a Saint Weapon by the age of 18 was rare to see on the Tian Yuan continent. The average age was around 20 years before a Saint Weapon could be formed, but most of them were geniuses. Of course, the average person could make a Saint Weapon at that age as well, but most of them would not be able to walk down the path of martial arts for long.
Because the spiritual Qi of the Tian Yuan continent was abundant, the average life span of a person was around 200 years. For a person to form a Saint Weapon at the age of 20, that could be considered decent.
Chang Bai pointed at Changyang Hu and said to Jian Chen, “Fourth master, that person is your brother Changyang Hu.” Looking over at him, he cried, “Eldest master, this is your younger brother Changyang Xiang Tian.”
“Big brother!” Jian Chen looked at Changyang Hu with a smile as he shouted out a greeting. In his eyes, he had felt that Changyang Hu looked to be a strong yet straightforward person, but his heart was not in complete agreement.
Hearing Jian Chen’s shout, Changyang Hu scratched at his cheek with a laugh, “Fourth brother, feel free to call on me anytime. If you are bullied in the future, then look for me straight away, and I’ll smash them to pieces!”
Laughing at his brother’s speech, Jian Chen responded, “Then I’ll be relying on, you big brother.” With this first impression, Jian Chen had thought that Changyang Hu was pretty nice, and so all worries he had about his big brother began to disappear like smoke.
Changyang Hu shook his head and laughed once more, “It’ll be no problem, not a problem at all. No matter what you say, I am still your older brother, so protecting the fourth brother is an absolute must.” After this, Changyang Hu suddenly froze before looking around, his eyes revealing some doubts. “Chang Bai, where are second sister and third brother?” He asked.
“Eldest master, the second lady and third master have not yet reached the requirements to enter the academy, so it is only the fourth master that was able to join.” Chang Bai answered serenely.
“Oh!” Hearing that, Changyang Hu let loose a disappointed look and began to mutter, “How did they not reach the requirement of reaching the 8th layer. This is silly. Fourth brother is more formidable, since he reached the 8th layer so quickly. He’s even more amazing than me, his older brother.
“Eldest master, please escort the fourth master down. From today on, you need to properly look after your younger brother. I still have some business to settle with the headmaster.” Chang Bai said.
Changyang Hu nodded his head firmly and pounded his chest with his fist, “Chang Bai, don’t worry! I definitely won’t allow anyone in the school to bully fourth brother!”
Afterwards, Jian Chen received the school medal and left with his older brother.
After exiting the tower, Jian Chen looked at the school medal in his hands. Aside from it being proof of him being a student, it also contained his dorm address.
Although Jian Chen was not familiar with the layout of the academy, but because Changyang Hu was there to lead the way, they both ended up at their destination sooner than he had expected.
The dormitories of the academy were built using a very durable type of stone and were split into 2 different areas. One area was for the commoners to live in, and the other side was for people like Jian Chen, who had a prestigious clan backing them up. The differences between the two were like comparing the heavens to the earth.
Kargath Academy was Gesun Kingdom’s most prestigious academy, so it naturally had to have a unique characteristic. Kargath Academy had a very strict rule; one must reach the 8th layer of Saint Force before they reach the age of 18 in order to fulfill the requirement. If a student does not reach this level, then even if they are from an extremely prestigious and rich family, they will not be able to enroll in the academy.
Because the tuition costs were very low, even the commoners were able enroll with ease. Some of the students that successfully enrolled came from impoverished families, but Kargath Academy had even waived the fee for many. For that reason, many students were of a commoner’s background, and had a poor innate skill for cultivation.
At Kargath Academy, there was also another iron-set rule that an aristocrat’s follower could not casually bully commoner students. Otherwise, no matter how powerful your family background was, you would still suffer from a serious punishment. If the situation was serious enough, then you might even be expelled. Although this would offend some major families, Kargath Academy’s had the backing of the Gesun Kingdom. Moreover, the headmaster was one of the six major elites in Gesun Empire, so no major family dared to speak up against this iron-set rule.
Jian Chen’s dorm room was around 10 square meters, and the room’s decor was extremely simple. Aside from a bed and a chair, there wasn’t anything else present. However, the entire room had been tidied so that it was extremely clean and organized, and it was completely spotless
“Fourth brother, this is your room; remember the location well, and be careful to not go the wrong way.” Changyang Hu laughed.
Jian Chen nodded, and after throwing down some of the clothes he had brought with him, he was pulled away by his older brother to wander around the school grounds. Changyang Hu claimed that it was so that Jian Chen could familiarize himself with his new surroundings.
For the entire afternoon, Jian Chen was dragged around by Changyang Hu to wander aimlessly around the school.
Suddenly, Changyang Hu opened his mouth to say, “Fourth brother, tomorrow is the annual new student competition. There are plenty of rewards, and the first newcomer king can even win a rank 3 Magic Stone. The person in second place can win a rank 2 Magic Stone, and the person in third place can win a rank 1 Magic Stone. You have to try your best and earn first place.”