The bell rang as the sun sank in the west. The students filed out of the Imperial Academy one after another. Apart from a small number who wanted to go to the Martial Arts Club outside campus for extra training, most went straight home to eat and rest—at night, all activities except reproduction were unsuitable.
The Radiant Bell Tower rang seven times in succession. A streak of golden light shot from the Platinum Tower toward the Imperial Court: the principal's nightlife had begun.
The Radiant Bell Tower rang eight times in succession. The sky had darkened completely, the Imperial Academy's gates had closed tightly, and the bustling academy had fallen utterly silent. Invisible ghosts wandered through the deserted classroom buildings, while the warm yellow streetlamps looked like lighthouses in a black sea.
Behind the Imperial Guard Faction's classroom building, Li Ying closed the novel she had just bought, I Really Don't Want to Be Favored, climbed through a window, and changed into a set of black robes and a mask inside the classroom. The mask was the Alluring Beauty fox-spirit style released by the Witch's Love Merchant Guild, and Li Ying felt it suited her taste perfectly.
Once she was ready, Li Ying pulled out a metal badge and nervously tapped it twice. "Hello, this is One, calling Zero."
"This is Zero. Number One, please do not waste energy. Activate the Heart-Linked Seal only when necessary." A mechanical voice came from the metal badge.
Li Ying's heart immediately settled. She crossed the academy along the edges of the lamplight. Although teachers were stationed around the academy on patrol, the Imperial Academy was clearly too large for just a few people to keep watch over. As long as she was careful and kept to areas with fewer people, staying in the