Ch-13:100 Year Competition

A certain rumor spread across the Arcane Academy that the deadline for the disciples to be sent to participate in the 100-year competition was approaching.

All the disciples from legacy, core, inner, outer, and even reserve districts were excited as all those below 100 years of age and the required cultivation realms could participate.

The only problem was the fact that it only worked for reserve and outer districts across all Titled Empires as they have strict standards for those in the better districts.

Anyway, the rumor was that Raelyn was the leader in charge of their entourage and the legacy as well as core disciples didn't like the fact at all.

Unfortunately, the Headmaster himself ordered it, so they had no choice but to accept it along with the fact that the vice-leader was from the Tenk clan who was Lia's Elder Sister, Antonia Ighost.

The reason all those were against this decision was that no one had seen them since the event with Raelyn defeating her fiancé... or so it happened.

The only twist was that the rumors stated that Raelyn had not only defeated her fiancé but also killed him in front of his father, a sect Elder, and escaped unscathed.

Well, leaving the rumors aside since no one except the ones involved at that time knew the truth and they would definitely ignore it as it would be the same as a slap in the face of that Elder in public.

The only confirmed news was that Raelyn and Antonia would be there during the selection rounds for those who want to try joining the entourage that will be participating in the 100-year competition.

It was a given that Raon who had just arrived in the Academy had no clue of knowing such things but his being a loner made him completely ignorant regarding the matter until he met Elric.

"Hmph. So you are still alive. Your fiancé is long dead but you're still roaming about freely. What? Do you think someone as weak as you will be able to join the entourage? Surely, you don't believe your Elder Sister would help you. She is only being sent because of her strength but her backing is as bad as yours..." While Elric kept speaking non-stop, Raon decided that his decision was correct.

Cutting Elric short, Raon asked him something that made him open his eyes and mouth wide open looking at Raon in utter shock and disbelief.

"Didn't you want me to leave the family? I'll do it because without it, I can't join Daiyu anyways as my talent is still nowhere near enough for others my age" stopped Raon as he took out the family abandonment contract.

Before Elric or his followers could react, Raon cut his thumb using a dagger and signed the contract that cut him off from the Tesra Family in its entirety.

He had long since decided to use it to cut off his connection ever since the past decade when he finally set his plans into motion.

As the contract was signed, it turned into golden particles going inside Raon and removing the Family seal which also disintegrated after leaving his body.

"Y-you... Are you crazy?" Shouted Elric still in his astonishment at the scene he witnessed.

"What? Are you crazy or am I crazy? You're the one who's been asking me to do this since the 1st year of the academy ended, so what are you saying now?" said Raon bluntly with a wronged expression.

"Y-you... Just you wait" said Elric as he vanished while he kept harrumphing now and then as he walked.

As Elric left, Raon also went to his Residence after submitting his missions and receiving their rewards to think about the next step.

The reason Elric acted like that was that the Family Abandonment Contract removes the Family Seal that is linked to one's cultivation and using it improperly can result in the cultivation being destroyed.

Since it had already been almost 2 decades since Lia's death, he had been wondering about the time dilation formation about the difference in the outside compared to the inside.

Every year had 12 months with 30 days each totaling 360 days and nearly 20 years that is 7200 days or 240 months had passed since then.

He decided to meet Altair one last time as well as leave some Rank-2 stones as a precautionary measure and approximate the time dilation effect on her body.

In the past 2 decades, he had been studying formations as well as forging in hopes that it would help him somehow in being able to alter the formation a bit but he had barely caught up to his peers when they entered the Academy.

That too was only possible with the help of his increase in cultivation as well as comprehension speed in the past decade that aided him in all ways.

If not for that boost in the past decade, he would have not been able to catch up to his peers in this regard but almost all the Inner District disciples had already reached the peak stage of his cultivation realm by now.

The only difference is that he can fight them even with just his late-stage cultivation but they can also fight at the initial stage of the next realm average cultivators.

As Raon arrived near Altair, all he could do was see her unconscious self stuck in the formation as he couldn't take her out ever since the formation had fully activated.

According to his estimates, Altair seemed to have grown nearly 8 months old and her growth rate seemed to be slowing down as time passed.

While Raon looked at her with gentle eyes and thought about how long she'd have to stay trapped, he felt a bit startled as he would have to stay away for around a year due to the fact the 100-year competition takes an entire year to end.

He decided to go see Lia for the first time since her death as he would just send the energy stones inside using the formation influencing it through his blood.

The only reason he could even enter and move around in the area of time dilation was that Altair was the new core of the formation and she had his as well as the previous core(Lia)'s blood inside her.

As soon as he looked, he saw that the dilapidated condition of Lia stayed the same since her death, he realized that even her body was going through slowed down time preventing its disintegration.

He went near her and finally placed the Aquamarine Gem/Pearl or Mermaid's Eye that he got with great difficulty as he got it from one of the kingdoms under his rule.

It was an ancestral treasure of their Royal Family as its size as well as the water elemental energy contained inside was much higher than the others but Raon mercilessly carved it to make it the center of the white crown.

He also replaced the other jewels as their energy seemed to have dispersed, taking away the crown's shine while now it seemed to have brought to another level of elegance.

Raon spent the next 6 days or a week with Lia and Altair as he figured that the time dilation was already coming close to 70-80 times slower than outside.

He couldn't stay any longer as the selection rounds for the entourage were beginning but if he had to make a guess, it would be that the time dilation would reach 100:1 which is quite significant.

In simpler terms, if someone spends 10 years inside, 1.000 would have passed outside, so those nearing the end of their lifespan would love to have control over such a formation.

Of course, if the formation could speed time up then the young ones would be going crazy for it as being able to cultivate 100 years in 1 would be unheard of and a crazy thing to even imagine.

Unfortunately, the cultivator's lifespan doesn't mean the time the world takes but the time they experienced so their age would depend on such factors.

That is the reason Rain's real age right now would be just a few months older than Aria but already younger than Nerlo and many of his peers.

Aria was on the verge of a breakthrough and she was ranked 87th in the Inner District while Nerlo was ranked 236th in the Inner District and Elric had long since reached the 40th rank.

The only reason the ranks were mentioned was because only 200 in the same cultivation realm as Raon would be taken and these were the latest updated ranks excluding those who went to the next realm or those who didn't consent to their participation before the deadline.

Even all the core and legacy disciples had to go through the same procedure except Raelyn and Antonia adding to their culminated hatred.

In the Daiyu Sacred Land, there were no tests for side occupations as they believed that the disciples talented in cultivation must have at least a well-cultivated side occupation.

The fact was that every genius was forced to learn the side occupation to an acceptable degree by their respective powers and those who joined the Academy without them would be forced to do so here.

The only difference is that one doesn't have to be the best at cultivation to be the best at any side occupation but if one has to be best at cultivation then they have to at least be better than average in some side occupation(s).

Naturally, cultivation inhibits your progress in the side occupations but the side occupations do not inhibit your progress as they help break the monotony of only cultivating.

Back to the topic, every single cultivation realm disciple above a certain threshold and being under 100 years old could join the entourage but the case is different for the core and legacy disciples as they have to be below 50 to participate in the Daiyu Sacred Land Entrance Test.

No one knew the actual reason for it except the very top brass like the Headmaster, vice-headmaster, the ancestors, the Arcane Empire's Emperor, and their ancestors.

Not that they would tell it to anyone but they were in the worst mood this time due to the news that they heard recently.

It was just that even Daiyu Sacred Land couldn't do anything regarding it let alone them, so they could only wait for it.

One might think that sending all core and legacy disciples is foolish but the acceptance rate is just abysmal as they are screened through several rounds.

The only reason everyone is allowed is that they have no other option as it only happens once every century but it is not like all join as every power would want to prevent itself from weakening itself.