The Ice Orchid Institute organized advancement exams every year.
However, the number of slots for advancement was quite limited, and the competition was extremely fierce.
But for Lu Mo, advancing had always been very simple.
Back then, she had directly signed up for the Advanced Class advancement exam and swept through the competition, ascending with ease.
In the eyes of the public, she was a genius. It was only natural, or rather, it was fated that she would enter the Advanced Class.
No one questioned her.
After all, people never questioned geniuses.
In their eyes, geniuses always stood in the heavens, shining brightly.
A genius was destined to stand above ordinary mortals.
The radiance of a genius was destined to be as dazzling as the sun.
The things a genius wanted to do were destined to succeed.
The opponents of a genius were also destined to fail.
And in the end, people would only ever remember the name of the genius.
No one cared about the losers or the ordinary people, and no one would ever pay them any attention.
“Sister Lu Mo, I signed up for the advancement exam.” On this day, after returning home, Elia spoke to Lu Mo with a serious expression.
“Have you finally decided to advance?” Lu Mo smiled.
Elia had been training as if she were possessed by a sudden fervor, participating in trials with everything she had. It was likely all for this advancement exam, wasn’t it?
“Is it for the Intermediate Class?” Lu Mo asked.
There were more slots available for the Intermediate Class advancement. Judging by Elia’s recent cultivation realm and combat performance, she definitely had a chance.
“No,” Elia shook her head. “It is for the Advanced Class exam.”
The Advanced Class?
This time, it was Lu Mo who was slightly surprised.
For the Advanced Class, it was only considered safe to apply if one had the combat strength of at least the high stage of the middle tier.
Elia was still quite a distance away from that standard.
Seeing Lu Mo’s momentary daze, Elia gave a bitter smile. “Does Sister Lu Mo also think that I am being a bit overconfident?”
“No.” Lu Mo didn’t mean to look down on Elia at all. “I will support you, Elia. Just do what you believe is right.”
“However, sometimes, you don’t need to push yourself too hard.”
She added, “We still have plenty of time ahead of us. There is enough time to wait for the sun to rise and the flowers to bloom.”
Hearing Lu Mo’s words, Elia responded with a smile. “Mm… thank you, Sister Lu Mo.”
“I’ll head to my room to study now,” she said, before turning to walk upstairs.
“Alright.”
As she walked up the stairs, Elia paused for a brief moment at the corner, casting one more look at Lu Mo’s back.
‘Some things, if I don’t give my all to try them, how will I ever know?’
‘If I could only stand shoulder to shoulder with her during the best years of my life…’
She spoke softly, her voice so faint that only she could hear it.
During this period, almost the entire institute was talking about the advancement exams.
For instance, there was a senior in the Intermediate Class who was making his fifth attempt at the Advanced Class this year.
Or, for example, there was a highly talented freshman who had directly signed up for the Advanced Class exam.
“Lady Kalin has also signed up for the Advanced Class exam this year.”
“In this year’s entrance exam, she took first place in both talent and practical combat. By the looks of it, she seems even more formidable than Senior Lu Mo was back then.”
“She definitely wants to compete with Senior Lu Mo, doesn’t she? Even her push for the Advanced Class is the same.”
Kalin.
Everyone in the Ice Orchid Institute knew that name.
During the talent testing phase for this year’s freshmen, Kalin had displayed an incredibly powerful ice-attribute talent. Even the Crystal Ice Orchid, the symbol of the institute, had flickered once because of her.
In the practical combat tests, she had advanced with unstoppable momentum. By the final round, the runner-up didn’t even dare to fight her and wanted to surrender immediately.
— But Kalin didn’t give the second-place student the chance to surrender.
Before the opponent could raise their hand, Kalin had already broken both of the student’s arms.
In the end, the runner-up fainted amidst shrill screams.
Almost everyone present was intimidated by Kalin’s aura.
After that battle, some Hall Masters criticized Kalin, believing her actions were far too mean-spirited and cruel.
Others believed that a genius having a bit of personality was beyond reproach. They argued that Kalin was simply treating every battle seriously, and that surrendering at the very start was an insult to both her and the fight itself.
Regardless, Kalin was the undisputed number one among this year’s freshmen.
No one was surprised by Kalin signing up for the Advanced Class, nor were there any voices of doubt.
It was just like when Lu Mo had applied for the Advanced Class years ago.
They were both geniuses.
But when the registration period closed and the list of applicants was published, the entire institute suddenly exploded when Elia’s name appeared at the very bottom of the Advanced Class exam list!
“Elia? I remember now, she’s Lady Lu Mo’s servant!”
“She hasn’t dropped out yet?”
“A servant with below-average strength participating in the Advanced Class exam? Is she insane?”
“How is she even qualified to apply?”
It was as if the name Elia had somehow defiled the Advanced Class exam.
Some people went to the school administration office, wanting them to remove Elia’s name.
However, they were surprised to find that Elia’s conditions actually met the minimum criteria for application.
She had spent enough time at the institute, her grades were excellent, and her trial results were up to standard.
Since they couldn’t have her name removed, their dissatisfaction gradually turned into mockery.
“What’s so great about her? Isn’t it all because she has a powerful master?”
“Let me just state for the record, as a bystander with no ill will toward Lady Lu Mo, is this Elia being a bit too blind to her own limitations?”
“Exactly! Elia is completely ruining Lady Lu Mo’s reputation!”
“She might have had Lu Mo’s help when she enrolled, but this time, she’s going to die a miserable death, isn’t she?”
They never questioned geniuses.
Yet, they went out of their way to make things difficult for an ordinary person like Elia.
Even some students from the Advanced Class came to speak with Lu Mo about the matter.
They pointed out the potential consequences, urging Lu Mo to keep her servant in line.
Some even offered to provide her with more exceptional servants, hoping Lu Mo would kick Elia out of the institute.
But to all of this, Lu Mo only gave a faint smile. “It’s fine. I believe in Elia.”
However, in front of those who belittled Elia, her tone suddenly turned cold. “She is my person. Whatever she chooses to do, I don’t believe it is your place to meddle — “
That tone sent chills down people’s spines.
It felt as though if they said one more bad word about Elia, she would draw her sword immediately.
Just like in the past.
“Elia, have you lost your mind!”
In Elia’s class, her friends were equally worried about her mental state.
“Do you know what everyone in the Ice Orchid Institute is saying about you right now? Terms like ‘overestimating yourself’ or ‘an ant trying to shake a giant tree’ are everywhere.”
“The weakest among the applicants has the strength of the high stage of the middle tier. The gap between your strength and theirs is just too large!”
The young girl could almost see the image of Elia’s bones being broken, lying in a pool of blood.
She leaned closer to Elia, practically begging. “Elia, be a good girl. Let’s just skip the exam, okay?”
But this time, Elia’s attitude was exceptionally firm. “I’m going to take it. I know what I’m doing, and I know what I might encounter. But I will keep moving forward until… the very last moment!”
All of it was just to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with someone.
“So that’s Elia.”
“The servant who went crazy and signed up for the Advanced Class exam…”
“Keep your voice down, don’t let her hear you.”
Recently, Elia would always hear people pointing and whispering whenever she walked home.
It was impossible to say she didn’t care.
But she endured all the rumors and gossip on her own.
Then, one day, she suddenly noticed that those voices on campus seemed to have diminished significantly.
Was it because those people had found their consciences?
No.
Lu Mo had done all of this.
Elia ran into Lu Mo on her way home, and the path Lu Mo had been walking previously led straight toward the Dean’s office.
She saw that Lu Mo had once again held “friendly exchanges” under the guise of sparring with several top-ranked students in the Advanced Class — and those students happened to be the ones who had been inciting the most rumors.
Lu Mo did not mention what had happened.
Elia did not ask, either.
The two simply looked at each other and smiled, then walked home together.
As the girl walked under the setting sun, Elia followed behind her, slowly closing the distance.
The sunset stretched their shadows very long, and those two silhouettes seemed to ignore the distance between them, leaning against each other.
‘I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with you — ‘
‘No matter what thorns may lie ahead.’
The day of the exam drew closer with each passing day.
On the final night before the test, Lu Mo sought out Elia again and talked with her for a long time.
“Do you remember the last few points I taught you?”
“I remember.”
“Make sure that protecting yourself is your first priority, do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“If you truly can’t win, we’ll just surrender. We still have other opportunities and more time.”
Lu Mo gave her instructions seriously, and Elia listened intently.
“Also, I’ll lend you this — “
Lu Mo unfastened her own sidearm and handed it to Elia.
It wasn’t a sword from the Shadow Moon series, but it was one that Lu Mo had spent a massive amount of points and rare materials to forge at the institute over the past few years.
Elia had heard sayings like “a sword is a transcendent’s second life,” and she knew how much effort Lu Mo had poured into this blade.
At this moment, Lu Mo had lent it to her without hesitation, which touched her deeply.
“Mm.” After a long silence, she nodded and obediently took the sword, which still held the warmth of Lu Mo’s body.
“Good luck.” Lu Mo smiled.
Between the two of them, no excessive words were needed to understand each other’s meaning.
Lu Mo stood up, preparing to leave.
“Sister Lu Mo…”
At that moment, Elia bit her lip and summoned her courage to speak. “If I really manage to get into the Advanced Class this time, can you spend an entire day with me? Just… one day.”
Lu Mo’s footsteps stopped at the doorway.
After only a few seconds, she turned around and gave Elia a gentle smile —
“Sure, I promise you.”