Li Qianjun

Everyone was stunned by the words.

Zhang Zhi looked at the principal with a hint of surprise. The principal smiled at him and said, "Wait a moment. I'll go talk to that guy."

Only then did Zhang Zhi realize that the spot at Seven Dragons Academy was probably something the principal had fought for on his behalf. He opened his mouth to say something, but the principal had already left the office.

The teacher from Yuanzhou School looked anxious as the situation took another turn.

A student who could open a Small World and already be in the Mortal Transformation Realm was an exceptional recruit for the Five Great Schools—no more than three appeared each year.

The Five Great Schools competed in secret, and the number of such genius students each school admitted each year was a benchmark for whose reputation was stronger.

Especially since Zhang Zhi was the first genius student to appear this year, and Yuanzhou School hadn't recruited one in five years—that's why they'd gone all out this time.

They thought they had it in the bag, but then a Cheng Yaojin had to barge in out of nowhere.

After a while, the bearded man walked into the office alongside the principal.

Seeing the man return, the Yuanzhou teacher sighed inwardly. The cooked duck seemed about to fly away.

The bearded man came back and asked Zhang Zhi directly, "You're an orphan?"

The other three schools' people looked at Zhang Zhi in surprise.

Zhang Zhi met the man's gaze and nodded. "I grew up in an orphanage."

The principal chimed in, "He's a good kid. I told you earlier—every month after getting his scholarship, he gives part of it back to the orphanage."

The man's expression softened. "No wonder. An orphan with no elder guidance, focused on what's right in front of him. It's normal for him to be a bit shortsighted."

He sighed. "Fine, fine. It's just a Trial Tower slot. I'll cover it."

He turned to glare at the principal. "Don't you forget what you promised me."

The principal smiled faintly and said nothing.

The bearded man glanced at the three schools' people. "What are you still doing here? If this kid weren't an orphan with too little experience, do you really think your crappy schools deserve to compete with me for a student?"

Hearing this, Zhang Zhi finally understood why the two seemed to be bickering when he first entered the principal's office.

This guy's mouth really was foul.

The recruiters from the Five Great Schools exchanged glances and left the principal's office looking a bit disheveled.

The bearded man took out a token and tossed it to Zhang Zhi. "My name is Li Qianjun. Li Qianjun—'strength to break a thousand armies.'"

"Seven Dragons Academy registration is in a month. Show this token to the registration staff, and they'll bring you to me."

Zhang Zhi caught the token.

The material felt like wood, with faint grain detectable to the touch, but it was far heavier than ordinary wood. It was pure black, with a large "command" character on it—nothing else.

After examining the token closely, Zhang Zhi bowed deeply to the principal. "Thank you, Principal, for your guidance."

It was obvious that the man's willingness to recruit him into Seven Dragons Academy was entirely because the principal was his friend.

The principal smiled and helped him up. "You earned this with your own ability. I only made a suggestion to that guy."

Zhang Zhi said seriously, "No, I know there are plenty of Realm Lords across All Domain who've opened Small Worlds. Without you, Principal, Teacher Li Qianjun wouldn't have gone to such lengths to bring me into Seven Dragons Academy."

Li Qianjun muttered from the side, "You're pretty self-aware."

The principal snorted. "Have you ever used your special recruitment quota in past years? Is this kid's talent not good enough for your school? You get a genius student, and instead of being grateful, you keep grumbling here."

With that, the principal turned to Zhang Zhi. "Keep that token safe. Li Qianjun keeps his word, but if you lose it, finding him will be tough."

He then took out a small pouch and handed it to Zhang Zhi. "You must be exhausted these past few days. Go home and rest."

When Zhang Zhi hesitated to take it, the principal laughed. "Just some white and green cards. Useless to me."

"Don't overthink it. I'm just making an investment on a whim."

'In the future, if you do well, I'll collect the principal and interest.'

Zhang Zhi thought it over, took the pouch, and bowed deeply to the principal once more.

Having lived two lives, he understood that the principal's words were meant to let him accept the cards without guilt.

He turned to Li Qianjun and bowed again. "Thank you for your kindness."

Li Qianjun waved a hand. "What's there to thank? Just do well at Seven Dragons Academy and don't tarnish my reputation."

Zhang Zhi said solemnly, "Rest assured, I won't let you down."

"Alright, alright, enough of this. Get going. Remember the registration dates: July 1st to 3rd. Miss them, and getting into the school will be a hassle."

After thanking them both again, Zhang Zhi left the principal's office.

Standing in the hallway, he took a look around the entire school, then walked briskly toward the gate.

Overall, his memories of this school were positive.

As an orphan, he'd always been an outsider here. And before he started writing adult novels under the pen name Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng, he'd studied hard for scholarships, which only isolated him further in class.

Still, perhaps because this was a supernatural world, he'd never been bullied. His snobbish homeroom teacher simply ignored him without making trouble.

What he hadn't expected was that the principal, someone he'd never interacted with, would value him so much.

Whether it was the principal or Teacher Li Qianjun, he owed them both a huge favor.

Back at the hotel, Zhang Zhi opened the small pouch the Principal had handed him. Inside were two Card Albums.

Each album contained five Green Cards and ninety-five White Cards.

All the cards were Human Cards.

Even though he had already braced himself mentally, he was still startled by the Principal's generosity.

This debt of gratitude had grown even heavier.

But Zhang Zhi figured, with fleas aplenty, one more bite doesn't matter—given his own strength, wouldn't he eventually find a way to repay them?

Glancing at the thick stack of Human Cards in the album, he thought that with these, he should be able to temporarily ease the population shortage in his Small World.