The reason was that there were many manuals in circulation that allowed a cultivator to walk the path of a warrior. The only way for the Imperial Academy to stick out compared to other organizations who would absolutely take a cultivator who was not walking the path of a mage, was to offer different elemental techniques for students to learn. Normally speaking, the foundation of every organization was dictated by not only the amount of elemental techniques they had available for their members,  but the quality of said techniques that said members could openly access.

The Iron Will Sect as an example, had roughly forty different low ranking earth element techniques open to all sect members while also having three Earth ranked techniques of the earth element available to those who showed high enough proficiency. This showed that the Iron Will Sect was able to have a small but stable foundation according to where they were located that outmatched other villages that were home to different smaller families with less technique scrolls available to them. However, if one lacked talent in their element, it did not matter if they had access to learning the highest ranked technique, because one still had to meet some requirements beforehand.

In the Imperial Academy's case, they were able to give students any techniques that they could actually handle depending on their talent level. This was not only for mages, but this included several manuals on types of trades such as alchemy, formations, blacksmiths among many more including of course warriors. Mages tended to use a staff as a weapon with a demonic core inside of it to make it easier to use techniques in which they would learn over time.

This however, did not mean that warriors were unable to learn techniques of their own whether it came from movement techniques, combat techniques, and techniques experts used while wielding a weapon of their choosing. If he were to be accepted into the Imperial Academy but lacked the combat experience he had in his previous life, Timothy would still be able to gain access to many techniques to use with his sword which would aid him on his path towards immortality.

Timothy was visibly exhausted but the artifact finally allowed him to take the sack off his back and so he followed the instructions happily and put it into his storage ring to avoid any suspicions. After this, Timothy felt as if his body was floating from being so light and with a big smile on his face, he followed the instructor inside of the gate after Timothy and the instructor thanked the guard for escorting him over from the city's entrance.

After walking past several buildings and a handful of courtyards that separated them from each other, the two entered into what seemed to be the main building within the Imperial Academy. The building was in the very center and was of course the tallest building in the area as well. "Oh, so another youth has arrived to take the exam and not only that but it seems as if he came prepared."

Upon entering, the instructor quickly bowed towards a middle aged looking man who was sitting down on a small stage who was accompanied by what looked like two vice elder leveled individuals that let out energy equivalent to experts of the 4th rank while Timothy could not clearly gauge the rank of the middle aged looking man who was clearly much higher ranked than the other two figures who were present.

"I am the Grand Elder of this branch of the Imperial Academy and have broken into Rank 5 as a mage recently which is why I look very young compared to these two men next to me. But let me assure you, these two are here to protect me, which is not needed, they are in fact younger than I am." the middle aged looking man told Timothy while gesturing for him to take a seat at a table in front of them.

"It seems to us that you have already reached Rank 1 due to the battle qi we sense radiating out from your body. This is a good sign but you should know as well as everyone else in the empire that our academy only accepts those who are pursuing the path of a mage. If you are not ready to focus on that path, I am afraid we will be unable to even give you the exam."

"Thank you for your concern Grand Elder, but my interest is pursuing immortality as a dual expert. It was explained to me at a very early age that this path is the hardest to walk down, but I was also reassured that those who find success in doing so are able to accomplish many great feats."

Hearing Timothy's answer did not move any of the three older cultivators in front of him, but the Grand Elder did show a slight smirk but one of approval. It was not often that they would come across such a determined youth who could back up what they could say. However, Timothy had clearly become a Rank 1 warrior while still wanting to take the entrance exam which meant that he indeed was worthy to test himself by walking the path of a dual expert.

After Timothy answered several more basic questions such as his age and what area he had come from, a handful of other youths had appeared and taken their seats as well. Like Timothy, these youths also missed the yearly entrance exam of the Imperial Academy, and they were here to test their luck in being accepted!