14 Redwood Academy

You can wait for time yet time doesn't wait for you

...

Strolling on a path a rugged bag hooked around the juvenile's shoulder as he took a bite out of an animal's leg he bought from a street vendor.

Murmuring beneath his breath "Oh, how I missed seasonings"

Searching for signs he failed to realize the giant banner on top of the city's gate

[REDWOOD CITY ENTRANCE EXAM]

Asking a nearby adult for directions he got whacked on the head while the adult pointed at the banner.

"...Oh"

Trying to laugh it off as a joke the juvenile still got scolded for wasting the adult's time but he brushed it off immediately.

The smile he showed to the adult in order to appease him had disappeared and covered up with a cold sneer.

"If this wasn't the wilderness you would've died."

The juvenile was Dean who was already at the age of 16. In total, 6 years from the event has already passed and Dean wanted to go schooling...

As if, Dean found that Christian was admitted into the school two years agoalong with his other 'friends'.

For the past four years Dean had abruptly cut off his link with the Wilkes family. Of course the Clan Leader Wilkes wouldn't relinquish his grandson for no reason so he gave excuses.

If Dean remembered correctly it was something along the lines of 'Dean had been in a closed training to become a hermit.'

What nonsense, Dean had sealed himself off for a whole year inside that cove to recover his cultivation and surprisingly it was insanely fast.

According to the [Battle Intent Manual] sitting down and cultivating is a surefire way to become stronger but compared to other manuals or techniques this one was made for one thing.

Battling.

Constantly walking on a tightrope between life or death was what this cultivation manual thrived on. Others can only rely on their comprehension while Dean just needed to look for more advantages.

Taking in all the precious herbs and fighting Dean has turned into a frightening monster. A monster that has surpassed all odds.

A Nascent Soul 2 cultivator.

Children his age would at most be Foundation Establishment while those with gifted talents and medical resources could reach Core Refiner.

He couldn't just show his real cultivation to anybody so he made sure to learn a subcategory of [Battle Intent Manual].

It revolved around the idea that battle with an unknown opponent is one of the deadliest fights. This allowed for whoever created this manual to hid their cultivation to later back stab a cultivator.

The war against any foes he met on his path when walking in areas known to be dangerous would always lead to Dean getting stronger.

'Just because you have great cultivation does not mean you can rule the world'

But because of this great strength, Dean became weary. This was especially so after he received a paper

Dean received a letter from his grandpa. On one hand it was a letter for entering Redwood Academy without a problem while the other was a handwritten note.

The writing was messy making it look urgent with wet patches, presumably tears.

{Dean Wilke's father has been killed due to a higher power.

Do not take revenge

Stay strong}

At the time Dean laughed

"I had already said I wasn't part of your family so why are you sending rubbish?"

It was a minor grudge Dean held. He suffered cruel torture from his cousins because he didn't have strength and his father didn't even interfere.

What made it even more hilarious was the fact his grandpa said his father was killed due to mysterious circumstances.

"If I didn't have a strong will to survive maybe I would've 'died due to mysterious circumstances'"

Because Dean refused to acknowledge his family, his ties have already been severed.

This meant that Dean didn't have to take 'revenge' for his dead father.

Dean at least learnt a valuable message from the letter. Brute strength does not mean you can always win.

If Dean wanted revenge he had to do it subtly.

Schemes and plots would have to be used if Dean still wanted to come out alive. Otherwise he can just resort to suicide with Christian.

Coming closer towards the school Dean learnt of many tales about Redwood Academy.

This school took pride in two main things

The first was the ability to cultivate geniuses. People who were above the norm were able to go to other schools in order to get stronger. In turn for this opportunity the school receives fame for the legends that they helped made

The second thing was only a rumor but many people believed in it. Long ago the very first principal of the school wanted to give something to the world.

After committing many evil deeds the man turned over to a new leaf and created this school. His enemies that accumulated from those evil deeds had learnt of this.

Planning and gathering on a day, they fought against the principal in the middle of the woods. In the end the woods were covered with blood with dozens of corpses impaled with wood.

Apparently, till this day there is still blood on those trees.

Dean chuckled at the thought that it's nothing more than a false tale made to attract more students and mused over the idea that the red wood is just from a special plant.

A teacher of the school was in front of the gates, taking a look for any students interested as well as prodigies that were given early access letters.

It always made the teacher proud when she saw parents waving good bye to their children.

They raised their children in the hopes that they can make their family successful and the innocence of children that only wish to do their best.

When the children would come out from the exam they would have two options.

One was that they failed but despite the disappointment of the parents will be subsided as they can only say 'you tried' or 'you got next year'.

It would be troublesome where the unreasonable parents would stuff their own logic into the teacher's faces.

The idea that violence will lead to infamy of the school, forced all teachers to act passive and only when in the circumstance of self-defense can they harm a person.

'Wasn't Redwood Academy built on the reputation of a cold blooded murderer?'

Scoffing at the weird policies a teen asked her a question

"Excuse me, i'm here to hand in a letter"

Looking closer the youth was covered with scars from head to toe. In his hand was a scroll wrapped with a thin brown rope and the important part, a wax seal with 'RWA'

Realizing this could be an important person the teacher started to act in a professional manner. "Welcome to Redwood Academy, Follow me to take a talent inspection"

Dean was initially confused by this as it wasn't mentioned on the letter but the teacher thankfully explained

"This is mainly used to compel others to have a competitive spirit. Besides that point it allows the school to mark the students."

The conversation continued with the teacher informing Dean of anything that was deemed unusual or potentially unheard of.

Dean payed attention to one special point

"Most families tend to keep this a secret from youths so the school will hence forth give any information that we consider to be the norm."

"The world knows one route 'Martial Arts' but on the other spectrum is 'Mages'. People who manipulate the world's essence for whatever they want. The reason this is hidden is that it mainly affects the talent of a mage"

"Until they reach a certain maturity should they have learnt about this. You'll also be tested for your Magic talent but this won't take too much time."

Dean felt slightly shocked about this. He had scoured through his clan's library without a single hint to magic.

His family hid this information very will, sighing Dean regretted he didn't learn of this a little earlier but when the teacher mentioned you had to reach a certain age, Dean felt thankful that no one spoiled him.

If one of his seniors wanted to sabotage his future then Dean could only sulk at his misfortune while laughing at this senior's punishment.

From what Dean inferred from those three paragraphs was that if someone were to purposely sabotage a person's future there would of course be a punishment.

If someone per say, paced documents everywhere there would surely be repercussions. What this could do is potentially make a whole generation forsake magic.

"Mages follow the same cultivation names: Body Tempering, Qi Gathering, Qi Condensation, etc. The only catch is that they replace Qi with Essence. The main problem with being a mage is that it is unlikely to be talented in both Magic and Martial Arts"

"Another is that due to studying and practicing spell Mages are prone to be weak in close combat."

"Student, is there anything else you would like to inquire?"

The teacher took a deep breath after her speech

Dean felt astonished and tried to slowly take in this new influx of information.

"No, thank you"