# Chapter 8: Star-Plucking Academy
In the current world, cultivation is primarily based on the orthodox teachings of the state religion. The main source of true essence is the countless stars that fill the night sky—the Church of Light emphasizes the concept of "light," and what illuminates the night canopy is precisely starlight. From breaking through meditation to entering the profound, then gathering stars, using the energy scattered across the mortal world by the myriad stars to transform the human body and spirit—this is the ultimate goal of cultivation. From this, one can imagine the status of the word "star" in the cultivation world. Every nation and sect has its observatory platforms, and countless famous mountains and great rivers boast star-gazing pavilions, yet names like "Embracing Stars" or "Seizing Stars" are rarely seen, as they would imply a certain disrespect toward the stars.
But the second academy on Chen Changsheng's list was actually called Star-Plucking Academy.
Plucking Stars—this academy had taken such an overbearing name, yet the state religion had no objections whatsoever. That fact alone was already quite overbearing.
Throughout the world, only this academy dared to use, and was qualified to use, this name.
Because this academy was directly under the military command of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Over countless years, it had nurtured countless brave and resolute young people, and the generals it produced were as numerous as the stars. In that world-shaking war against the demons many years ago, when humanity was on the verge of extinction in the early stages, from the academy's dean down to the ordinary students, everyone rushed to the battlefield, one falling after another in succession. Eight or nine out of ten died on the battlefield. After the war, the once-great academy was as desolate and silent as a tomb. For this reason, Star-Plucking Academy earned a respect in the human world that no one else could match, and also possessed an unimaginable aura.
For such an academy, even if it wanted to use "Burning Stars" as its name, who would dare to raise any objections?
Everyone in the world understood this bloody, cruel, yet glorious history of Star-Plucking Academy, and Chen Changsheng was no exception. His master had listed Star-Plucking Academy second on the list, but in his heart, it was actually ranked first. So although failing to get into the Heavenly Dao Academy made him somewhat frustrated, he wasn't too concerned about it.
He believed that Star-Plucking Academy certainly wouldn't engage in favoritism like the Heavenly Dao Academy, or at least wouldn't go to such extremes.
Thinking along these lines, he arrived at the grim and solemn Star-Plucking Academy and began preparing for the second examination.
Star-Plucking Academy was indeed different from the Heavenly Dao Academy. Although a dense crowd was gathered outside the academy gate, whether it was because of the eagle-like gazes of the fully armed elite soldiers at the entrance, or because the stone tablet at the academy gate, inscribed with the names of generals who had died for their country, was too oppressive, the scene was completely silent, without any noise.
After filling out a simple registration form and receiving a number plate, over six hundred young examinees, led by several military officers, walked through the academy gate.
Similar to the Heavenly Dao Academy's assessment, Star-Plucking Academy had also prepared a preliminary test, with the same purpose of eliminating those ordinary youths who had not successfully completed marrow cleansing, thereby reducing the pressure for the subsequent formal entrance examination. However, since Star-Plucking Academy had a military nature, its method was much simpler and more direct than the Heavenly Dao Academy's—there was no sensing stone here, only a stone disc.
That stone disc was very large, very much like a millstone—in fact, it was originally a millstone temporarily removed from the stone mill outside the Star-Plucking Academy's kitchen, weighing three hundred jin. Examinees who could lift this millstone and walk up thirty stone steps would pass the first round of assessment and be qualified to participate in the formal entrance examination.
Three hundred jin in weight—unless one had successfully completed marrow cleansing, with bones and muscles tempered like pine, it was difficult for an ordinary person to lift, let alone walk such a long flight of stone steps. Many youths who hadn't succeeded in marrow cleansing changed color at the sight of the millstone, and many retreated dejectedly. Even some who had succeeded in marrow cleansing but had unstable cultivation bases, judging that they couldn't manage it this year, shook their heads repeatedly and gave up, unwilling but helpless. Of course, there were also some ordinary youths who bravely attempted the challenge relying on their own natural strength, but not a single one succeeded.
In Star-Plucking Academy's entrance examination, it wasn't actually uncommon for someone who hadn't completed marrow cleansing to lift this millstone. For example, the White Tiger Divine General, now guarding the Galan Pass, hadn't succeeded in marrow cleansing when he first entered the academy, but relying on his heaven-given divine strength, he had easily thrown that millstone all the way to the other side of the lake...
But still, this wasn't something that happened very often.
The instructor felt somewhat regretful. He looked at the time and decided to speed things up, letting the examinees self-report their cultivation levels. Then, those who had successfully completed marrow cleansing would take the test first, followed by the ordinary youths attempting afterward.
Unfortunately, even as the sun passed its zenith, still no ordinary youth had created a miracle.
Just as people were growing bored and many onlookers were preparing to leave, a sturdy young man holding a number plate walked into the arena. He lifted the millstone with extreme ease, and with thudding steps, climbed all thirty stone steps without panting or flushing, and even carried the millstone back to its original place!
The scene erupted in commotion.
The young man raised his hand to acknowledge the crowd, then proudly walked up the stone steps again, heading deeper into the academy. Interestingly, he had such an honest and simple appearance that no matter how hard he tried to appear proud and triumphant, in the eyes of the onlookers, he only seemed endearing. There was no mockery, only a wave of good-natured laughter.
After the sturdy young man left, many began to speculate about his origins. It wasn't until someone suddenly mentioned the faint green patterns visible on the young man's ankle that the crowd fell silent in shock, because... that indicated the young man most likely had demonic blood, or might even come from the Western Demon Domain!
For centuries, due to their joint resistance against the demons, the relationship between humans and demons, though not exactly harmonious, could be considered peaceful. Some demon nobles who could take human form even lived in the human world, and there were certainly some in the Great Zhou capital—but after all, humans and demons were different species, and in the human world, whether officially or among the people, this matter was rarely mentioned, as long as those demons didn't cause trouble.
That sturdy young man suspected of being a demon had successfully lifted the millstone, as if pushing open a door. Following him, two more young hunters from the Great Old Mountains also managed to lift the millstone and climb the stone steps relying solely on their natural strength. Although they appeared to struggle greatly, they still earned rounds of applause.
The officer holding a brush and ink for record-keeping at the top of the stone steps nodded slightly, apparently quite satisfied with this year's results.
Time passed, and finally it was Chen Changsheng's turn. The onlookers looked at this youthful-faced boy and offered a few encouraging cheers, but then paid him little further attention. This boy was clearly still young, not fully developed—far from being as sturdy as that demon youth, and nowhere near as robust as the two hunter youths. There was no way he could lift such a heavy millstone.
At the Heavenly Dao Academy, Chen Changsheng had relied on his familiarity with the academy's rules to skip the marrow cleansing selection round. Here at Star-Plucking Academy, he might have thought of other methods, but perhaps influenced by the academy's grim yet passionate atmosphere, or perhaps just wanting to give it a try, he did nothing of the sort.
He walked up to the millstone, slowly crouched down, firmly grasped both sides of the millstone, took five slow and deep breaths to gather his breath, channeled all his strength into his waist, abdomen, and arms, let out a low grunt, and suddenly exerted force!
In front of the sloping stone steps, it suddenly became very quiet. Those who had been chatting about something were stunned into silence, forgetting what they were saying, their mouths hanging open as they stared at the scene.
The millstone slowly rose, eventually lifted to Chen Changsheng's chest—not too much, not too little, just one inch above the assessment standard!
His face was somewhat red, but his expression remained fairly calm, and there was no panic or tension visible in his eyes.
Boom! Enthusiastic cheers erupted from the scene. People continuously encouraged the boy, using rhythmic shouts, trying to help him take his steps.
Chen Changsheng took one step forward. Just one step, and his knees began to tremble.
Lifting the millstone was one thing; carrying such a heavy millstone up the stone steps was another matter entirely.
His breathing became somewhat irregular, and his face grew redder and redder.
He made no sound, but from his slightly bulging cheeks, one could see that he was clenching his teeth tightly.
Step by step, he made his way up the stone steps.
...
...
Chen Changsheng had indeed not succeeded in marrow cleansing. The strength of his muscles and bones should, in theory, be only that of an ordinary youth. In fact, because he had been ill since childhood, he should have been even weaker than ordinary youths. But precisely because he was ill—and with a difficult-to-treat illness at that—the three people in that rundown temple outside Xining Town, including himself, were most concerned about his body.
From the time he was barely old enough to understand, he had been forced to memorize the three thousand Daoist scriptures in the rundown temple. Meanwhile, his somewhat eccentric Daoist master would dig up countless medicinal herbs and boil them into medicinal baths for him to soak in, while his senior brother, Yuren, would use thorny branches and wooden sticks to constantly temper his body. For over ten years, the people he knew best were the three in the temple, and the smells he knew best were the smell of books, the smell of medicine, and the smell of sticks and clubs.
After such a long period of treatment and tempering, his illness was not cured, and he couldn't become like that demon youth with heaven-given divine strength, but his body, which should have been extremely weak, was now no weaker than an ordinary person's—in fact, it was even better. Although this was only superficial health and strength, it still made him very happy.
A youth who had been ill since childhood, shrouded in the shadow of darkness after the age of ten, would care more about physical matters than others, would pay extreme attention to those details. So today at Star-Plucking Academy, he silently walked up to the millstone, wanting only to pass this assessment through his own strength.
He wanted to lift that heavy millstone to prove something to himself, and also to express his gratitude to his master and senior brother.
...
...
One step, two steps, three steps, four steps.
Chen Changsheng's breathing grew heavier and heavier, his complexion worsened and worsened. His tightly bound black hair was already soaked with sweat, but his gaze remained calm and resolute.
The cheers and applause from both sides of the stone steps had stopped. Everyone watched the boy with lowered head, trembling and staggering as he walked up the steps, feeling both worried and deeply admiring. Several times, the boy seemed about to fall, but some unknown source of strength kept him going!
The instructor watched Chen Changsheng from the top of the stone steps, admiration showing in his eyes.
...
...
Seven steps, eight steps, nine steps.
Chen Changsheng's pace grew slower and slower.
The admiration in the instructor's eyes grew stronger and stronger. He was very surprised by the level the boy had shown—as a military man, what he valued was the perseverance and courage Chen Changsheng had demonstrated. He had already decided that even if Chen Changsheng couldn't carry the millstone all the way to the top of the steps, he would still let him pass this preliminary test. As for whether this would affect the reputation of the academy and the Great Zhou military...
The instructor looked at the tense crowd and felt somewhat reassured, thinking to himself that it probably wouldn't. It seemed that most people, like himself, held this opinion.
A serious and hardworking child deserved special recognition.
...
...
Thinking about these matters, the instructor became somewhat distracted and wasn't watching the stone steps continuously. Until at some point, he snapped back to attention and suddenly noticed that the expressions on people's faces had changed.
He turned to look and saw that someone had appeared beside him.
It was a boy, drenched in sweat, utterly exhausted.
The instructor thought to himself that he wouldn't have to bend the rules after all. Smiling, he reached out and patted the boy's shoulder.
Chen Changsheng had reached the top of the stone steps.
That heavy millstone lay beneath his feet.
He had succeeded.