The End

The moment these words were spoken, Minke and the others were stunned into silence, unsure of what to say.

Chen Tong's expression was also grim. He said with some reluctance, "Then it's fine if we aim for the Outer Academy, right?"

"Exactly. The Outer Academy is easier to get into, with a thousand spots. But you need to understand something: last year, only 101 people from the entire Thirteenth District got into the Outer Academy. Of those, 72 were students from the First Intermediate Academy, Haiheng. Our school only had 3 people get in. And among those 101 who got in, many were through connections. So how many do you think got in purely on merit?"

Zhou Wei explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Su Ming's brow furrowed slightly. He hadn't expected the difficulty to be this high.

"To be honest with you, the 3 people from our school who got in last year were all Special Training Students, meaning people like us. The Imperial Court Academy was never meant for students like you. You're only fit to try for other trash academies,"

Zhang Tai taunted unceremoniously.

"How can this be? They gave our district so many spots. If they only admit this few people, will the Imperial Court Military Academy even be able to fill its quota?"

Zhao Ran and the others couldn't quite believe it.

Zhou Wei looked at Zhao Ran and replied with a smile, "You don't need to worry about that. They'll definitely fill the quota. Remember, we're the Thirteenth District. The first twelve districts are all stronger than us. And the students from the Three Upper Cities enjoy resources we can't even touch. They're simply not on the same level. If they still can't fill the quota, there are students from the External Planets. Although their conditions are worse, out of tens of millions, there are bound to be one or two geniuses, right? Combined with their population base, that's quite a considerable number."

"Hmph, so stop dreaming, you bunch of ignorant fools. You'd be better off trying to get into some other garbage school. If you get assigned to the Mecha Reserve Force, you can slowly work your way up for a few years, and maybe you'll have a chance to become a regular and get your hands on a real Mecha,"

Zhang Tai said with a cold laugh.

"That's enough. Let's go,"

Lin Chuyu said calmly to Zhang Tai and the others.

Seeing Lin Chuyu speak, Zhang Tai and Zhou Wei didn't say anything further and left with her.

Meanwhile, Minke and the others were utterly dejected, like eggplants wilted by frost.

Some of the girls were so disheartened they crouched down, burying their heads in their arms.

Seeing this, Su Ming felt a headache coming on. This was a complete disaster; they had been thoroughly doused with cold water.

On the other side, Tang Yan, after finishing his conversation with Chen Yi, walked into the training ground with a heavy heart, his mind preoccupied with the matter of quotas.

The so-called quotas actually referred to the number of students who successfully enrolled in the Outer Academy of the Imperial Court Military Academy. As long as a certain number of students were cultivated to be admitted, one could apply for a transfer to schools in different cities.

Of course, the quality of the school one transferred to depended on the number of quotas.

Transfers started at a minimum of 10 quotas. As for Teacher Chen Yi, he aimed to accumulate 30 quotas to jump directly to a school within the Three Upper Cities.

He had been striving for this ideal for over twenty years.

"Sigh!"

Tang Yan sighed. He also needed thirty quotas, but over the years, he had only achieved three.

Of course, it wasn't that there were no shortcuts. If one could cultivate a student who got into the Inner Academy, they could be promoted unconditionally.

However, Tang Yan quickly adjusted his dejected mood and walked towards the training area.

But when Tang Yan returned to the training area, he froze in place. The students who should have been training intensely were all sitting on the ground, looking listless.

The entire area was filled with negative energy, despair, and dejection.

Tang Yan felt as if all the seedlings he had painstakingly cultivated had withered. He hurriedly asked, "What's going on? Why aren't you training?"

"What's the point of training? There's no hope anyway."

"Forget it, stop bothering."

The students said one after another, their voices full of apathy.

"Hey, hey, Minke, what happened?"

Tang Yan grew anxious and immediately looked at Minke.

Minke looked up, his expression complicated as he asked Tang Yan, "Teacher, is what they're saying true? No one from the Thirteenth District has gotten into the Inner Academy of the Imperial Court Academy for five years, and is it true that only Special Training Students have a chance to get into the Outer Academy? Do we have no hope at all?"

Su Ming and the others also looked up at Tang Yan.

Upon hearing this, Tang Yan immediately understood and cursed Zhang Tai and the others in his heart.

He had invested so much, nurturing his seedlings with great effort, only for them to be on the verge of collapse now.

"No, this can't go on," Tang Yan said, trying to encourage them.

"What they're saying is true, but you have to believe in yourselves. There's an old saying: 'The universe is not yet decided; you and I are dark horses!'"

"Really?"

Minke and the others looked at Tang Yan with hopeful anticipation.

"Of course, it's true! You have to believe in miracles!"

Tang Yan said with conviction.

"Miracles? It's over, there's no hope."

Minke and the others heard Tang Yan's words and drooped even further. Wasn't a miracle basically the same as winning the lottery? Instantly, they all exuded negative energy.

Su Ming's lips twitched uncontrollably. Teacher Tang really knew how to comfort people.

Tang Yan's heart trembled. He immediately realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly encouraged them.

"Don't be discouraged, I was just using an example. There's still hope!"

Unfortunately, it was useless. Everyone looked listless.

Seeing this, Tang Yan gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, saying, "Don't be discouraged either. Humans can make things happen. Training ends here for today, and I'm treating all of you to barbecue!"

"Really?"

The students, who had been disheartened, all stood up from the ground and asked joyfully.

"Of course, it's true. Let's go!"

Although Tang Yan felt a pang in his heart, he could only splurge. These were his students, and he still counted on them for future opportunities.

"Alright!"

Minke and the others replied happily.

Half an hour later.

Near Mient Junior Academy - Niu Niu Barbecue Restaurant.

The once quiet restaurant was now bustling with activity. The not-so-large establishment was packed with fifty students.

A somewhat plump middle-aged woman, her face full of smiles, urged the waiter.

"Quick, quick, quick, bring out all the meat!"

Business was tough these days, and it was rare to have so many customers.

Sizzle~

As the oil seeped out, the entire hall was filled with the scorched fragrance of meat.

"Delicious!"

"It's so good! Eating it when someone else is paying really makes a difference."

Everyone ate the barbecue, chatting and laughing. Although it was all fed with rapid-growth feed, it still grilled up very nicely.

Su Ming looked at the perfectly grilled, golden-brown meat, swallowing his saliva uncontrollably. His reason told him not to eat, but his body's instinct was very honest.

This made him extremely uncomfortable, and sitting there was agonizing.