To reside in the Capital, the Mo family was given a large courtyard close to the palace, in a very prime location.
This was arranged personally by Han Yan. Throughout history, the closer to the centre of power one is, the closer their property is near the Palace, so the residents around that area were all high-ranking officials.
Although the regulations for the Mo family's residence weren't particularly strict, the surrounding neighbours were all dignitaries.
For an ordinary person to find a house in this area would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. With the Mo family settled, Mo Qingkuang didn't need to worry about the next steps; his father would take care of it. He just needed to focus on his cultivation and represent the Mo family well.
Han Yan also quietly reminded him that the Imperial Academy had already started classes a few days ago, and Mo Qingkuang had missed several days due to rescuing his clan members. Han Yan planned to settle the Mo family first, then take the top scorer of this year's martial examination to report to the Imperial Academy.
It was already more than ten days into the new term at the Academy, and the top scorer of the martial examination hadn't reported yet. Everyone thought of this as a strange situation.
The Martial Arts Institution of the Imperial Academy was located in the Fulong Mountain Range on the outskirts of the Capital, and it wasn't Mo Qingkuang's first time here. He had been here before during the examination of the Martial Arts Institution. However, those were only in the outer courtyard; the inner courtyard was generally not open to outsiders.
As this year's top scorer, Mo Qingkuang could directly sign up for the inner courtyard. It was a rule of the Martial Arts Institution that the top three of each martial examination could directly qualify for the inner courtyard.
Leading Mo Qingkuang through the layers of buildings and arenas in the outer courtyard and bypassing several mountains, Han Yan finally arrived at the inner courtyard.
The regulations and the number of people in the inner courtyard were completely different from the outer courtyard, so only one large arena in the centre was needed. The inner courtyard was decorated in an ancient style, but its area was not inferior to the outer courtyard.
At the entrance, there were two disciples guarding.
Mo Qingkuang couldn't help but feel emotional, 'The inner courtyard really lives up to its reputation; even the disciples guarding the gate are martial masters of the fourth rank or above.'
Seeing the two about to enter, one of the inner courtyard disciples stopped them, "Please show your token."
Han Yan took out a token from her waist that looked like jade and handed it to the disciple, "Senior Brother, this is Mo Qingkuang, the top scorer of this year's martial examination. He hasn't had time to report due to family matters, so he doesn't have a token temporarily."
The disciple took the token and looked at it, his expression changing immediately. He returned the token to Han Yan and bowed, "Greetings, Ninth Princess."
Han Yan quickly avoided the formal greeting, shaking her head, "Senior Brother, there's no need for such formalities here at the Imperial Academy. We're all fellow disciples; there's no need for these formalities."
Seeing Han Yan's sincere words, the disciple didn't insist anymore, smiling, "Ninth Princess is generous. Since this is someone brought by you, there shouldn't be any problem. Please come in, Junior Brother Mo."
With that, the two were allowed to enter.
"Thank you, Senior Brothers." Han Yan and Mo Qingkuang finally entered the inner courtyard and headed towards the central arena. Mo Qingkuang was drawn to a huge stone monument in front of the arena.
He went over to take a look, and he noticed that on the stone monument, there were many densely engraved names.
"This is the ranking list of the inner courtyard, called the Qingyun Stele. Unlike the outer courtyard, resources for cultivation are uniformly distributed here. The competition in the inner courtyard is more intense, and only those who rank higher can get more resources," Han Yan explained.
"This is the central arena of the inner courtyard, also known as the Qingyun Arena. I've heard from the senior brothers that those who stand out on the Qingyun Stele and in the Qingyun Arena will have a bright future and become leaders in their fields."
"The Qingyun Stele?" Mo Qingkuang nodded with interest, looking down. At the bottom of the Qingyun Stele, the names of Han Yan and Gu Hongyi were prominently listed. They were right at the bottom of the list.
"So, does that mean I'll be the third from the bottom once I successfully register?" Mo Qingkuang laughed.
"If you're confident, you can also challenge the students ahead of you. As long as you defeat them, you can take their ranking. However, you need to make an appointment one month in advance for the challenge. If you fail, you'll have to pay the price with your cultivation resources for that month. It's a rule in the inner courtyard that a lower-ranking student can't challenge someone more than ten ranks above them," She continued.
The martial examination at Tianxuan Empire occurs every three years, with a maximum of one hundred people admitted to the Martial Arts Institution each time.
Among those who enter the inner courtyard from the outer courtyard, the maximum is no more than twenty each time. Therefore, the number of disciples in the inner courtyard is extremely limited, and the names on the Qingyun Stele represent just over a hundred people, which is the total number of students in the inner courtyard.
"Hmm?" Mo Qingkuang looked at the name at the top and his eyes sparkled.
"Han Kongming, my cousin, son of the Ice Spirit King. He was the champion of one of the previous Martial Arts Examination and is currently the top student in the inner courtyard. Our families aren't exactly on the best terms." Noticing Mo Qingkuang's gaze lingering on Han Kongming's name, Han Yan's expression flickered with a hint of disapproval as she spoke in a low voice.
The Han family line has been a prestigious lineage for a thousand years, surpassing even the Mo family in terms of heritage.
In the Tianxuan Empire, whether royal or commoner, titles were granted based on cultivation. Only those who achieve the realm of Martial King can attain a royal title in the Han family. Martial Venerables can be granted titles of nobility, and so on.
All titles are not hereditary; if descendants fail to reach the required level, they will be deprived of their titles after the current title holder's death. There is one exception: those who reach the Earth-grade aptitude in childhood can obtain the position of princess or prince.
Han Yan is the ninth girl in the Han family to meet such requirements and was thus granted the title of Ninth Princess. Despite the grandeur of the Han family, cultivation resources are limited, leading to conflicts as the population grows.
Han Yan is the daughter of the Ice Soul King's family. Both the Ice Soul King and the Ice Spirit King are the most promising royal family members of their generation to reach the Martial King realm. In their competition for precedence, there is often conflict over resources, and the two families have long-standing grievances.
Ever since Han Kongming, son of the Ice Spirit King, rose to prominence and took the top spot in the Imperial Academy's Martial Arts Institution, the Ice Spirit King had been suppressing the Ice Soul King to some extent.
Of course, Han Kongming was not only the son of the Ice Spirit King but also the sixth prince of the Tianxuan Empire. Titles such as prince or princess are only officially bestowed after their cultivation reaches a certain level.
However, such titles are also a sign of emphasis on their cultivation, and those bestowed with them will receive a certain amount of resource allocation.
"Don't worry, it won't be long before I bring him down," Mo Qingkuang said softly, looking into Han Yan's eyes.
Mo Qingkuang's words greatly pleased Han Yan, and she believed that Mo Qingkuang could indeed achieve it!
As the two were getting closer, about to indulge in their conversation, a discordant voice interrupted, "Oh, not bad for someone so young. Quite arrogant, aren't you? Do you really think being the martial examination's top scorer makes you the best in the world?"
***
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