Liue Xia

Captivating the room's gaze, Elaine, whether due to her beauty or the resonance of the name Victorium, drew every eye upon her. Stepping forward gracefully, she donned the Cerulean uniform, accentuated by a flowing yellow silk garment that enveloped her from nose to hand. As her hand touched the orb, it illuminated, triggering a cascade of events. 

Tremors coursed through her body, unleashing a surge of soul power. A delicate light purple flower soul essence emerged, hovering gracefully over her head, accompanied by seven radiant stars. With a decisive motion, she withdrew her hands from the orb.

"Rank seven, soul essence is the Nine Tears of Death." Senior Yang said.

Elaine nodded, not surprised by her rank, and walked away.

A few people didn't take their eyes off her, even though she already showed her ranking. Their eyes dodged as she looked back at them.

Liang Jianwei continued to wait his turn until Senior Yang finally called his name.

"Liang Jainwei, step forward." Senior Yang called him forward. 

Affirming with a nod, Jianwei advanced towards the blue orb, placing his hands upon it. A subtle tremor coursed through the orb, and the room gradually filled with mist. As the blue orb intensified its glow, Liang Jianwei sensed a rapid surge of soul power coursing through his body. A colossal star materialised above his head, accompanied by three stars gracefully orbiting around him.

 Li Weiyang's eyes widened in awe while Thomas' gaze narrowed slightly. 

The room fell into a profound silence, disbelief etched on the faces of onlookers as the extraordinary scene unfolded.

"Rank 13? How is this even possible!" A voice sounded out, shattering the silence. Senior Yang composed himself and wrote down his name and soul essence.

"Step to the side, Liang Jainwei, and let others take their tests." Senior Yang said.

Jianwei nodded his head, not surprised at his rank. He had already pushed through the bottleneck after the battle with those thugs back at his village; it was only logical alongside his talent and endless training.

The ceruleans discussed Liang Jainwei and the rank 13; some were envious, while others praised him. Thomas rolled his eyes and lit another cigarette, ignoring the cerulean around him.

A couple of minutes would pass until everyone tested and showed their ranks. Senior Yang flipped his page, looking at each student, muttering while nodding his head occasionally. After a few minutes, senior Yang looked back at the ceruleans and spoke.

"Alright, listen up. You have class today at classroom one. Follow me." Senior Yang said, leaving the assessment hall. The ceruleans followed Senior Yang through a series of long corridors until he arrived at the classroom.

The classroom was standard, with a podium and hundreds rows of wooden desks. The row could fit up to five people each. Senior Yang cleared his throat and spoke.

"Listen up, you can sit anywhere you want. I recommend getting to know the person next to you as it might come in handy in the future. Your teacher is Lieu Xia, a high-ranked cerulean that became a teacher. I'll let her take it from here." Senior Yang said, walking out of the classroom.

After Senior Yang left, another lady entered the classroom. She had dark yellow hair that reached her shoulders and a commanding figure. She had a book in her hand, titled - Cerulean Arts.

"Welcome new ensigns. You will be with me for this year's first semester. This semester will mainly be about understanding soul essence and training you. Next semester will focus on missions and martial arts. Now, everyone should have gotten their Cerulean emblem and uniform already, correct?" Lieu Xia said, scanning to make sure everyone was wearing their uniforms.

Once Lieu Xia confirmed everyone was wearing their cerulean uniforms, she spoke again.

"Good. Now that everyone has their uniforms, please wear them daily unless I state otherwise." Lieu Xia said.

She flipped open the Cerulean Arts and picked up a piece of chalk then spoke.

"Now, let's start your lessons on soul essence. Soul essence is a power that is within our body. It comes in different shapes, forms, and elements. The stronger your soul essence is, the more versatile it is. We use soul essence to battle, protect ourselves, and other things." Lieu Xia said before flipping another page.

As she was doing this, people in the room scattered to find a place to sit. Liang Jianwei, Thomas, Elaine, and two others who happened to be a boy and a girl sat down next to them.

"Now, in order to use our soul essences, we must have soul power. Soul power is generated within us and is what strengthens your soul essence and makes it more potent." Lieu Xia said before writing a symbol on the chalkboard. The ceruleans looked at the symbols.

"This is soul power. Your soul essence is stored in your Dantian. Think of it as a container that can be filled with soul essence." Lieu Xia said. writing another symbol.

"The container of soul power and soul essence can be compared to a bottle. Once empty, you cannot use your soul essences anymore. The Dantian has its own unique container for soul power and soul essence that varies per person." Lieu Xia explained.

Jianwei was listening intently, absorbing the information like a sponge.

"Now, you were all given ranks, correct? imagine each rank is how much your bottle can have, and once you reach rank 10, it is full. That's why when you reach rank ten, you get a massive star that goes over your head like this." Lieu Xia said, exploding in soul power as five massive stars appeared over her head while seven small stars circled her body. The ceruleans gasped in surprise, except Thomas and a few others, but everyone felt like they were placed in the bottom of the ocean.

Lieu Xia chuckled seeing their reactions and spoke again.

"Don't be discouraged if you were given low rank. With training and hard work, you can reach the same rank as me." Lieu Xia said. her soul power disappearing, letting everyone breathe a sigh of relief from the pressure.