Chapter 80: Yun Ranran of the Nine Provinces Academy

Zhong Li seemed to sense Yun Ranran’s gaze on him. The corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smile as he glanced back at her.

On the other side, Luo Nanshu appeared to be searching for something, looking around constantly, but the disappointment in his eyes, which should have been filled with starlight, was unmistakable.

The look in Zitan’s eyes was intimidating, and Yun Ranran was no exception. Most of it was a primal response from the body.

The Chief Steward wiped sweat from his brow and stepped forward to stand behind Zitan. These brats—just wait until you’re admitted, then you’ll experience the authority of the Steward’s Office!

“All students and teachers are to assemble at the martial arena shortly. You have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to pack your belongings. The Chief Steward will conduct random inspections of the dormitories!”

Wuhoo—those words, that solemn tone, Yun Ranran couldn’t help but want to applaud the old man Zitan!

It seemed none of the new students realized the gravity of the situation—at least not until the Chief Steward conjured an incense stick out of thin air and lit it with spirit power. Then panic set in, save for two oddballs.

Everyone hurriedly dispersed, except Zhong Li and Luo Nanshu, who remained unhurried and even nodded a greeting to each other.

Yun Ranran knew she should never judge Zhong Li by ordinary standards—and now there was Luo Nanshu as well. Simply outrageous!

Zitan didn’t bother to ask why the two of them remained rooted. After all, when the stewards came to check, anyone who failed inspection would lose credits! Fail the exam!

Inside the spatial realm, Little Rascal heard Zitan’s internal thoughts and rolled on the ground with glee. That night, Lord Zhong Li had been harsh with him, swelling his master’s lips for two days and blaming it on mosquitoes. Serves him right to be bullied!

Before the incense burned out, nearly half of the new students had yet to arrive at the martial arena. This was considered tardiness—deduct credits!

Long before that, Zhong Li and Luo Nanshu had already followed Yun Ranran’s group to wait at the martial arena.

Those who arrived late were made to stand at the front as punishment. Among them were two familiar upperclassmen—the very ones who had gossiped about Yun Ranran behind her back.

These two relied on their family backgrounds and strong academics to form their own little factions in the school, even naming one the Azure Dragon Faction.

Little Rascal was too embarrassed to tell his master that these two were nothing but lumps of mud—how they’d managed to gather followers at Jiuzhou Academy was a mystery.

“Passing the entrance assessment is only your first step. In a month, the first minor exam will truly determine who stays and who goes. I hope you’ll apply yourselves in the coming month!

“About credit deductions: each student starts with fifty points, which will be adjusted up or down. If, by the end of the term, you fall below fifty, you fail!”

Although we generally don’t assign written homework, you should ask the upperclassmen about the consequences of failing.

Many new students, bold as calves, completely ignored these warnings, their pride showing. Some upperclassmen, having suffered credit losses themselves, watched gleefully, clearly not planning to share the consequences—exactly the effect Zitan wanted.

Where’s the fun in knowing the consequences ahead of time? Only experience brings true understanding, does it not?

Zitan thought the reputation of Jiuzhou Academy still wasn’t fierce enough. Every year, a couple of so-called “hidden dragons and phoenix chicks” slipped through. It was still difficult to recruit students who excelled in both virtue and learning.

“Since you’re all so confident, let’s proceed with the new and old students’ sparring—foster some camaraderie. I hope… you’ll get along harmoniously.”

Instructor Huai Yuan said this with a smile, though a meaningful pause betrayed her true intentions.

Meanwhile, the Chief Steward led a group of teachers to “inspect” the dorms, which in reality was just an excuse for a stroll. If the new students ever learned this was all a ruse, a revolt wouldn’t be far off.

Zitan considered that some students might have done their homework—otherwise, only a handful would have been caught for punishment, when in previous years it was a whole crowd.

On a whim, he secretly sent a message to the steward, telling him to put up a front to scare the new students and follow up with surprise inspections later.

A long time ago, Jiuzhou Academy didn’t concern itself with students’ daily lives. But too many students had grown lazy at home, turning the dorms into pigsties. After numerous complaints, the elders convened and established a set of dormitory management rules.

When these rules came out, even the most accomplished alumni broke out in a cold sweat, secretly rejoicing that they’d escaped that ordeal, while gloating over the hardships future students would face at the academy’s hands.

The upperclassmen were well-practiced in these “freshman interactions,” deliberately choosing the weakest for the sparring matches. One after another, seven or eight new students had already been defeated.

Many new students began appealing to the instructors, but were rebuffed and told that those challenged by upperclassmen could not forfeit or refuse to fight.

One by one, the new students hung their heads, dreading the prospect of being called up to the stage for a beating.

Perhaps because Zhong Li, now in a diminished form, had been standing motionless, Jiang Wu—who had always dominated the first-year class—challenged him: “Hey! You, the one in black next to you, come up! I want to spar with you!”

Jiang Wu had held the class title for two years running. Though his conduct was as slippery as an eel’s, he did have some real skill.

Zhong Li merely glanced at Jiang Wu, while Yun Ranran’s face twisted with emotion.

A hundred years ago, it was this same figure—Zhong Li—who had taken the spirit rhinoceros’s rib to make a bone spike. That scene had remained in her memory: with effortless calm, not a drop of blood on his hands, a white jade rib landed in his palm.

The spirit rhinoceros, as large as a hill, vanished on the spot. It wasn’t until she saw the blood mist on the ground that Yun Ranran understood how wronged that beast’s death had been.

Yet, the spirit rhinoceros had committed many evils, abandoning cultivation in the mountains to wreak havoc among the people. Zhong Li had, in a sense, acted as heaven’s agent, and the beast’s death was well deserved.

Zitan watched the new students’ setbacks with relish, gleefully wagering with other instructors on who would win.

“What do you think of this match?” Zitan watched as Zhong Li lightly stepped onto the stage, feeling in his gut that this student was far from ordinary.

Just the other day, he’d seen him casually shatter the trial stone during the assessment, and even change its color at will. That alone was remarkable.

Yet he couldn’t figure out what technique the boy had used to shrink himself. If he could examine his hand bones, perhaps he could determine his age.

“Ranran, what do you think?”

Called by name, Yun Ranran was caught off guard. “Huh? You mean them?”

Instructor Huai Yuan thought Yun Ranran looked just like she had when she was young. Though she now appeared only in her twenties, she was actually fifty or sixty, thanks to a beauty-preserving pill that kept her face eternally youthful.

“Do you think Jiang Wu can beat this new student?” Zitan pressed.

Of course, Yun Ranran was biased toward Zhong Li. She knew his strength all too well. “I—I think the new student seems rather remarkable. I’ll put my bet on him!”

“Oh?” Zitan’s smile deepened. “As it happens, I’m betting on him too. Why don’t we raise the stakes?”

The others were making a ruckus, but these words were likely heard only by Yun Ranran herself.