The journey from the royal palace to the Royal Academy took only a day. After receiving farewell gifts from his parents, Kranos followed his father to a teleportation portal stationed near the castle gates.
Raphael exchanged a few words with the guards and paid the necessary mana stones after confirming their destination.
I must say, these teleportation portals are pretty convenient. Kranos couldn't help but mutter, With spatial portals, the need for long-distance transportation had been reduced greatly. As soon as he and his father stepped through the silvery portal, it only took a few moments before they appeared in a large building.
Before them stood an enormous black gate with bold golden letters inscribed at the top: Royal Cultivators Academy
The huge gate towered over everything. Kranos felt insignificant just standing before it. I wonder, what sort of strength is required to open this gate?
Kranos couldn't help staring at the gate; after a few moments, he tore his gaze away and glanced around. To his surprise, the area was packed with youths around his age. There had to be at least five hundred people—and this was likely just a fraction of those present.
Kranos looked at his father and noticed that his expression was calm. Raphael's calm expression helped ease his nerves. While waiting, Kranos decided to ask his father a few questions: "Dad, how many worlds are in the lower realm?"
"3000 worlds," Raphael replied after a moment of thought. Kranos was immediately shocked; he didn't think there would be so many worlds in the lower realm.
"In those worlds... is the cultivation system the same as ours?" Kranos asked; this question had been weighing down on him. Kranos felt that
"You need to understand," Raphael began, his tone more serious, "realms are like layers. The Lower Realm consists of three thousand worlds—but that's just our Lower Realm. There are other Immortal Realms above it. Those too are layers beneath the Divine Realm."
Kranos was shocked; for a few minutes he was speechless. Previously he thought that there was just one immortal realm, along with the following three thousand worlds of the lower realm. Could it be that there are three thousand immortal realms? Kranos was stunned by his own thoughts.
"Then how many immortal worlds are there?" Kranos asked after getting hold of his thoughts.
Raphael pondered for a moment before answering, "Presently, we have discovered just over seventy immortal worlds. There are vast unexplored regions of the universe. I'd say we haven't even discovered half of them yet."
He continued, "Most of the known worlds follow a similar cultivation structure, but there are anomalies—bizarre worlds with unique cultivation systems. Some planets haven't even come into contact with spiritual energy yet. All this, mind you, is based on the exploration of only about a thousand lower worlds."
Kranos nodded slowly. Despite the shock, he couldn't help but marvel at the immensity of the universe. He was about to ask about the Divine Realm when a loud creaking sound interrupted his thoughts.
Crrrnnng!
Kranos turned around and noticed that the two huge gates were slowly sliding apart. After what seemed like a few seconds, a new world was opened to him. Multicolored lights filled his eyes. The green trees were extremely beautiful and well trimmed. There were flowery plants beside them, giving the trees a more beautiful look.
In the distance, elegant buildings rose, each more majestic than the last. He gawked in surprise as he looked at everything. "Come, son, let's go and register," Raphael nudged him, bringing Kranos out of his thoughts.
"Yes, Dad." Kranos nodded and followed Raphael. After passing through a couple of buildings, Raphael brought Kranos to an office. 'The Principal Office,' Kranos read. They entered Inside, a middle-aged man with white hair sat at a desk, dressed in formal attire. His appearance exuded experience and calm authority that immediately portrayed his position as the principal.
"Reynolds. Good morning," Raphael greeted warmly.
"Oh? Raphael? Is this your boy?" The man responded with a kind smile.
"Yes. Kranos, meet Reynolds—the principal here. He's pretty strong," Raphael added with a chuckle.
"Good morning, Principal," Kranos said respectfully.
"Good boy," Reynolds praised with a nod. "I assume you're here to register." Saying so, he pulled open a drawer and retrieved a few forms, handing them over to Kranos and Raphael to fill. Raphael took the paper and glanced at it; he realized that it contained lines to fill in his information, which he proceeded to fill in.
Name: Kranos.
Cultivation Aptitude: A-grade
Elemental Affinity: A-grade Space
Age: 10
Weapon of Choice: Sword
Current Realm: …
Kranos hesitated for a moment. Should he reveal his true cultivation? The cultivation he had displayed to his parents, of course, Kranos would not court death by revealing his actual cultivation. 'Just go ahead and fill it.' A voice resounded in his head; Kranos realized that it was Raphael's. He was looking at him with a smile; Kranos saw that he was already done filling his own form.
Current realm: 10th stage of qi condensation. Kranos wrote down, however, the true extent of his cultivation was only known to him, and only he knew how horrifying he had become over the years.
After filling in the other details, he and Raphael handed the form back to the principal, who just took a glance through it before stamping it with a seal. "Here, this is your badge; you possess a special element so you belong to the elites of the alpha class."
Kranos received the badge that Reynolds had taken from his spatial ring; he noticed that the badge gleamed gold, inscribed with his name and class designation. Kranos sensed faint mana fluctuations from it. It seems that this badge is far from ordinary.
"In the briefing later today, I will enlighten you all on the complete use of the badges," Reynolds said with a polite smile, seeing Kranos look at the badge strangely.
"Let's head to the assembly grounds and leave Reynolds to his work," Raphael said, rising from his seat. "We'll catch up another time, Reynolds."
"Alright. Take care," the principal replied with a smile as they exited.
…