Chapter 51: The Gates Of Nexus Academy

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The Gates Of Nexus Academy

Exactly one hour later.

Whooosh!

Slicing through a vast blue sky illuminated by the morning sun and dotted with scattered white clouds, a luxurious, high-speed Imperial jet cruised effortlessly across the atmosphere.

Inside the secure vessel sat Princess Elysaria and the young scions of the five ducal families.

After saying their formal goodbyes to their parents back on the empire, they had boarded the aircraft to chart a direct, uninterrupted course toward the Nexus Academy.

Nexus Academy functioned as a prestigious, transcendent educational center where any intelligent race across the cosmos—regardless of their dimensional point of origin—could freely attend, provided they commanded a sufficiently high tier talent.

The institution had initially been founded right after the ancient, catastrophic wars between the multi-dimensional races had finally concluded on Earth.

Its foundation had been established by a legendary, universally recognized entity—a historical figure widely revered across the continents as the very first resident of Nexus Earth to successfully shatter the boundary to become a Constellation.

Operating as an absolutely neutral global force, Nexus Academy flatly refused to take sides or align itself with any singular sovereign nation.

Because of this strict non-aligned status, the active professors, combat instructors, and elders of the institution completely severed their official ties with their original homelands upon taking their oaths.

This neutrality did not imply that the sovereign empires lacked the advanced knowledge, deep combat experience, or natural resources required to cultivate their own prodigies at home.

The decision to send their scions to the Academy was driven by entirely separate, long-term strategic reasons.

First and foremost, it was a matter of pure operational experience. Instead of remaining locked inside the borders of one’s own nation to cultivate in isolation or endlessly duel the same familiar peers, it was vastly superior to throw a young warrior into an arena where thousands of foreign geniuses of an identical or superior talent actively competed to hone their skills.

But for some who don’t belong anywhere it is an opportunity to become influential and gain power and wealth.

The secondary objective was to establish vital diplomatic and political connections.

Countless high-ranking nobles from every global powerhouses converged at Nexus Academy, alongside incredibly talented commoners who were destined to one day soar straight into the heavens.

Interacting with these diverse factions and binding them to one’s network early on was an invaluable asset.

Furthermore, the environment served as a highly efficient tactical way to systematically dismantle deep-seated inter-species racism.

The imperial jet violently broke through the regional force field as it traveled through the open sky.

Traveling at a blistering hypersonic, the journey still required three continuous hours of flight time to reach the geographic coordinates of the Academy’s territory.

Nexus Academy occupied an entire isolated landmass officially designated as the Astravell Continent.

Although the landmass was noticeably smaller than the other sovereign nations—measuring approximately millions of geographic scale—it was still considered a significant, massive territory within the modern grid of Nexus Earth.

For a single independent academic institution to command a literal continent of its own, backed by that scale of sovereign space and rich natural resources, was a reality that never failed to stun new visitors.

Peering out through the reinforced glass windows of the passenger cabin, Aeon and his peers captured a sweeping view of the sprawling metropolis expanding directly below their position.

This was Caelmont City, one of the primary civilian and economic hup, as well as the capital city located on the Astravell Continent.

Although its layout wasn’t quite as massive as the primary capitals of the major empires, it functioned as a hyper-dense global trading hub, officially ranking as the third best trading city across the entirety of Nexus Earth—standing as an unyielding proof of the Academy’s vast resource wealth and unmatched global reputation.

The architectural footprint displayed a perfect, seamless blend of futuristic engineering and high-fantasy aesthetics.

Colossal, high-tech skyscrapers rose into the sky, their glass-and-steel frames almost touching the cloud layers, while ancient structures settled beautifully between the plots.

Countless flying vehicles navigated the sky lanes in a perfectly orderly manner. Thousands of citizens were casually moving about their day-to-day lives, and local commercial business was flaring with immense activity today, as the entire city prepared for the arrival of the annual Academy Entrance Examination.

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Within moments, their imperial jet completed a smooth touchdown sequence inside the Academy’s restricted private airfield.

Dozens of advanced corporate aircraft and state jets from foreign nations were actively landing across the adjacent runways.

Positioned directly to the left of the massive landing strips stood the sprawling architecture of the Academy itself.

It was a magnificent, breathtaking structural network that spanned across almost hundred thousands of kilometers of land.

The campus beautifully integrated high-fantasy castles with futuristic structural layouts.

Towering buildings that nearly pierced the atmosphere were scattered across the sectors, while colossal, glowing floating islands suspended themselves quietly above the structures, giving the entire perimeter a majestic, legendary appearance.

Down on the ground level, a massive, dense crowd of teenagers representing dozens of distinct races was slowly filtering through a colossal arched entrance, chatting frantically with one another.

"Wow! I honestly cannot believe we are standing at the gates of Nexus Academy," a young human girl exclaimed in a state of intense excitement, clutching her identification token as she walked. "I desperately hope my performance is enough to get me accepted into the academy."

Walking right next to her path, an elven youth let out a cold scoff. "Do you honestly believe it is that simple to secure a student seat inside Nexus Academy? Before your name is even registered on the ledger, you are strictly required to clear the primary aptitude test.

The Academy enforces an absolute talent gap. Unless your talent registers safely above C-rank threshold, you don’t stand a single shred of a chance of getting through the selection."

His blunt, cutting words caused several nearby examinees to let out heavy sighs of intense relief, while a few of them instantly broke down into tears as their confidence shattered.

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Aeon and his group smoothly exited their jet, bypassed the main processing lines, and headed straight toward the designated VIP lounge.

This separate routing did not mean the Academy corporate board harbored any deep ideological respect for noble lineages or imperial bloodlines. In truth, the law of the campus dictated the exact opposite.

The moment an individual crossed the borderline to enter this Academy, it mattered absolutely zero whether they were the scion of a ducal family or the direct heir to an imperial throne.

Their external societal titles were recognized as nothing more than empty air within these walls.

The only thing that carried absolute weight inside the Academy was the raw tier of an individual’s talent.

The sole reason Aeon’s squad was permitted to utilize the VIP processing lounge was due to their classified, high-tier letters of recommendation they had siphoned from Valthoros Empire.

The underlying strategic objective of issuing these recommendations was to completely bypass the public talent testing stones.

By avoiding the open aptitude test, the empire could successfully hide the exact rank of their children’s takents, innate physiques, ancient bloodlines, and unique special talents—ensuring that the spy networks of the Voidbound Cult could not map their profiles or target them for immediate, cold-blooded assassination.

Yet, despite entering through the VIP lounge, they received absolutely zero special treatment or luxury pampering.

They weren’t escorted by a maid, a butler, a senior student, or even a formal academy professor.

They simply followed a series of bright, glowing neon signs that mapped out their designated destination.

Within 5 minutes, Aeon and the rest of the Valthoros scions walked through a sequence of vast corridors until they successfully reached a massive holding room.

The grand double doors were already wide open, exposing a large hall where hundreds of teenagers from different races were actively chatting.

But the exact moment Princess Elysaria stepped through the threshold, flanked closely by the towering frame of Aeon and the four ducal scions, the frantic chatter inside the hall came to an instantaneous halt.

Every single eye inside the room locked firmly onto the newcomers.

Multiple examinees narrowed their eyes, carefully evaluating their high-tier noble garments and the unyielding, majestic posture with which they carried themselves.

It was blindingly obvious to anyone with baseline perception that these youths originated from a nobel lineage.

Then, the crowd’s focus shifted to analyze their defining physical traits. Sharp draconic horns, long draconic tails, and glowing draconic pupils, paired with the majestic crest of the Valthoros Empire deeply embedded into the fabric over their chests.

The physical evidence was as clear as day. These were the scions of the Dragon Empire, and noticing the radiant golden hair mapping Elysaria’s features, a few knowledgeable examinees instantly identified her rank.

A highly academic, sharp-eyed human youth voiced his suspicious aloud, drawing the immediate attention of the surrounding crowd.

"I am sure that they are the scions of althoros Empire. And that golden hair... she must be the rumored First Princess, Elysaria Drakonius! The five dragons walking right behind her must be the young masters and misses of ducal families."

Hearing the boy’s words, the entire holding hall instantly erupted into a wave of intense discussion.

Some examinees wondered what tier of talent that these dragons has , while others quietly praised their elegant, breathtaking physical features.

Step. Step.

A sudden, rhythmic footsteps echoed from the front entrance as a sharp figure stepped into the hall.

The man was dressed in a sleek, perfectly pressed black suit and wore a pair of thin eyeglasses. His physical skin was uncommonly pale, contrasted against a mane of short black hair, and his eyes burned with a distinct crimson-red light, paired with a set of sharply pointed ears.

Anyone with knowledge could identify his race instantly. He was a Vampire. He brought his posture to a halt a few paces away from the central platform, raising his voice to unleash a cold wave of raw pressure that instantly clamped down on the sound in the room.

"Silence."

The single word acted like a physical weight, forcing the entire holding room to fall into a dead, breathless quiet as every examinee locked their eyes onto his posture.

The Vampire professor adjusted his glasses, his crimson eyes scanning through the crowd. "Every single individual assembled inside this hall has successfully cleared the aptitude test.

Your next challenge will evaluate your knowledge. You are about to be subjected to a rigorous, comprehensive written examination detailing everything you have studied over the past fifteen years of your life.

Let me make the situation completely clear. If your mind holds nothing but empty air, it matters absolutely zero how high your natural talent rank is. You will fail the evaluation, and you will be kicked out of the gates."

He paused his speech for a moment, allowing the heavy, unyielding reality of his words to settle deep into the thoughts of the listening teenagers.

"Within the wider universe, knowledge is the one of highest form of power. If your brain lacks baseline common sense, you are nothing more than a walking corpse the exact second you venture outside our borders. You will instantly transform into easy prey for every monsters and hostile faction roaming the world."

Hearing his cold, uncompromising tone, several examinees instinctively straightened their postures, a chill running through their channels as they processed the stakes.

"Now, then. Your group has been designated as Section A. You will manually report to Examination Room 01 to complete your papers. Exit through the left corridor, another proctoring professor is currently waiting there to receive your alignment. I wish you luck."

The moment the final words left his lips, the Vampire turned around and exited the hall, leaving the examinees with zero extra instructions.

Princess Elysaria turned her golden eyes toward Sophia, Alex, and the rest of their squad, her voice carrying a calm royal rhythm. "Shall we proceed to the examination wing then ?"

Matching her lead, the group stepped out of the hall, joining the steady stream of teenagers from various races who were already filtering out of the doors to march toward their designated coordinates.

Upon reaching the entrance of Examination Room 01, they found a human female professor standing patiently by the doorframe.

She possessed vibrant blue hair paired with a set of warm brown eyes, a soft, encouraging smile gracing her features as she scanned the approaching examinees.

"Hey there, children!" she greeted them with a cheerful wave of her hand. "Are you all ready to tackle your next academic obstacle? Well then, don’t stand around outside. Come on in."

Following her lead, the crowd of teenagers stepped through the entrance, filtering into the vast, stadium-like classroom.

Every student rapidly claimed an individual desk, and following ten minutes of administrative organization, roll-call verification, and attendance mapping, the written exam officially started.

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