Black Tier Class One

The Griffon Beasts took flight again. Worth mentioning was that Lin Ming spotted Shi Shanshan among these students. It seemed she had been admitted as well.

After living in flight for over a month, their group was finally nearing Jia Nan Academy. Lin Ming saw a pitch-black tree, its claw-like branches forked with corpses that swayed in the wind. This must have been the Spirit Tree outside Jia Nan Academy.

Not long after, looking down from the back of the Griffon Beast, Lin Ming saw a massive city slowly emerge before his eyes. Gazing at this giant city whose end could not be seen even from the sky, Lin Ming could only sigh. It truly deserved to be called the oldest academy. The Imperial City of the Jia Ma Empire could only be considered a child before it.

After flying for roughly another half hour, the Griffon Beasts finally began descending before a plaza. The Instructors then had everyone dismount.

Once everyone had gotten down, Chen Yuanlong said to the Instructors, "Our Enforcement Team's mission is complete. We'll be taking our leave." Then all the Griffon Beasts flew away.

Lin Ming looked at the broad plaza ahead and faintly saw several figures walking towards them.

Once the Griffon Beasts had taken off, the various Instructors began organizing the students they had recruited. By the time they had formed their students into lines, the figures approaching them had arrived.

"I am Hu Gan, Vice Dean of Jia Nan Academy's Outer Academy. On behalf of Jia Nan Academy, I welcome all new students into the great family of Jia Nan Academy..."

After hearing that this self-introduced man was Hu Gan, Vice Dean of Jia Nan Academy's Outer Academy, Lin Ming took a close look at him. This was a Dou Emperor Expert. So far, he had never seen a Dou Emperor before. Yet judging solely by Hu Gan's snow-white hair and beard and his kindly appearance, probably no one would associate him with a Dou Emperor.

However, what Lin Ming had not expected was that they still did the same sort of freshman welcome ceremony as in his previous life, going on about the academy's history, achievements, and so on. It was not until an hour later that the speech finally ended. The Instructors were then told to submit their recruitment rosters, after which the students were assigned to classes.

Class assignments had nothing to do with Lin Ming. Instructor Zhang Man had already claimed him for her class, and he had agreed. As for the others, they were not so lucky.

As Lin Ming understood it, the class one could enter first depended on the wishes of the Instructor who had recruited them. If that Instructor was willing to accept someone as his student and that person agreed, their class would be confirmed. If the recruiting Instructor did not want them, they would be reassigned to another Instructor's class. In any case, they only needed to end up under an Instructor.

Another hour passed. After everyone had been assigned to their classes, Instructor Zhang Man gathered the dozen or so students assigned to her this time.

Instructor Zhang Man looked at her thirty-odd students and said, "You all came from different places. Some of you were recruited by me, so you already know me. Others were assigned to me by the academy, so presumably you do not know me. But that is fine. Let me introduce myself again. My name is Zhang Man, and I will be your Instructor for Black Tier Class One from now on. If you have any problems with cultivation or daily life, you can come to me. I will do my best to answer whatever I can, and if I cannot answer something myself, I will find the appropriate person to help you. And what you need to do is enter the Inner Academy. As for what the Inner Academy is, you will find out later. Follow me now. I'll take you to your accommodations."

Lin Ming and the other thirty-odd students followed Instructor Zhang Man towards their accommodations. After walking for nearly half an hour, they arrived beneath a large building.

"This building is the residence of Black Tier Class One. The second floor is for classrooms, the third floor is vacant, and from the fourth floor up are your living quarters. There are enough rooms, so you may live alone, in pairs, or with more people. Just choose for yourselves. The only requirement is that you are not allowed to fight here. Tomorrow morning will be your first class since arriving here, so do not be late. All right, go find the rooms you want." After Instructor Zhang Man finished speaking, some people headed towards the building.

"Oh, right. The small courtyard next to this building is my residence. If you need anything, you can find me there," Instructor Zhang Man added.

Lin Ming looked in the direction Instructor Zhang Man pointed and saw an exquisite detached courtyard. It was only natural. The students' accommodations were already quite good, so it was normal for an Instructor to have her own private courtyard.

Lin Ming also began walking upstairs. Upon entering a floor, he saw there were five rooms on each floor. Students began living from the fourth floor onward, and there were twelve floors in total. That meant there were forty rooms. Their class had only thirty-odd people, so there would still be rooms remaining even if each person lived alone. Lin Ming was in no hurry and searched leisurely.

When Lin Ming reached the top floor and saw that one room was still vacant, he decided on it. He wrote the two characters Lin Ming on the door, declaring that this room belonged to him.

After entering, he discovered that it had two bedrooms and a living room, as well as a bathroom and kitchen, with a balcony outside. After looking it over, Lin Ming felt it was quite good. The place was at least one hundred square meters, more than enough for his daily needs.

After taking out his daily necessities and arranging them in the master bedroom, Lin Ming lay down to sleep. For over a month, he had spent the days traveling atop the Griffon Beasts, and even when they landed at night, he had not rested well. Now that he was settled, he could finally get some sleep.

The next morning, Lin Ming arrived at the classroom on the second floor. Seeing Instructor Zhang Man at the front, he greeted her before finding a seat below.

Before long, after Instructor Zhang Man saw that everyone had arrived, she said to Lin Ming and the others, "Students, today is the first class of Black Tier Class One. Yesterday, I introduced myself, so you now know something about me. Now it is your turn to introduce yourselves, so that I may get to know you as well. Starting from the left, introduce your name, age, and cultivation level in order."

At that moment, the first girl on the left stood and said, "My name is Han Yue. I am fifteen years old and a one-star Dou Zhe."

Hearing that the girl called herself Han Yue, Lin Ming thought, Could it really be such a coincidence? Is she the Senior Sister Han Yue Xiao Yan met in the Inner Academy in the original story? It seemed possible.

The introductions continued. Before long, a somewhat refined-looking young man stood up and introduced himself. "My name is Lin Xiuyai. I am sixteen years old and have the cultivation of a Five Star Dou Practitioner."

Upon hearing the young man call himself Lin Xiuyai, Lin Ming could now confirm that he was the Lin Xiuyai who ranked second on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking in the original story. It seemed they had entered as freshmen in the same year.

Soon, it was Lin Ming's turn. He stood like the others and said, "My name is Lin Ming. I am fifteen years old and a Two Star Dou Master."

"A Two Star Dou Master? Classmate, did you mean to say Dou Zhe instead of Dou Master?" Lin Xiuyai spoke up. He himself was a cultivation genius rarely seen in a century within his clan, yet he had only reached Five Star Dou Practitioner at sixteen. Lin Ming was a year younger than him, yet claimed to be a Two Star Dou Master. How could anyone believe that?

Apart from the few who already knew Lin Ming's circumstances, the other students also began discussing it among themselves. Everyone was Dou Zhes. If someone had a few more stars than the others, they could barely accept it. But he had skipped an entire rank. How were others supposed to compete?

"Quiet! What kind of behavior is all this shouting and arguing?" Instructor Zhang Man rebuked those below.

Once everyone had quieted down, Instructor Zhang Man said to Lin Ming, "Lin Ming, show them. Let these people know that there is always someone stronger, so they do not act as though no one else can do what they cannot."

Since Instructor Zhang Man had spoken, Lin Ming did not hide it any longer. It would be good to establish prestige and save himself from people bothering him later. With a circulation of Dou Qi, a Gold-Green Dou Qi Gauze Robe suddenly appeared around his body.

Seeing their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit eggs, Lin Ming stopped circulating his Dou Qi, took back the Dou Qi Gauze Robe, and sat down.

"Next," Instructor Zhang Man said. Only then did the others recover, and the person behind Lin Ming began introducing himself.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, everyone had finished their introductions. Only then did Instructor Zhang Man say, "I have remembered all of you now. All thirty-six students in Black Tier Class One have reached the Dou Zhe level, and there is even one Dou Master. This greatly pleases me. That means we can skip the material on Dou Qi and begin directly with explanations of Dou Zhe knowledge..."

At last, Instructor Zhang Man finished explaining all that. Lin Ming thought class could end for the day, but Instructor Zhang Man then said, "We need to select a Class Leader. That way, if the Instructor happens to be busy, you can go to the Class Leader. Now, make your choice yourselves."

The moment Instructor Zhang Man finished speaking, Lin Ming saw everyone turn their eyes towards him. Before he could react, Instructor Zhang Man said, "Lin Ming. Since everyone has chosen you, you will be the Class Leader of Black Tier Class One from now on. When Teacher is absent, you will be responsible for the students' affairs. All right, that is all for today. Dismissed."

Watching his classmates gradually leave, Lin Ming was dumbfounded. Just like that, it was decided? He had not even agreed!

"Lin Ming, what is wrong?" Seeing that Lin Ming had not left, Instructor Zhang Man asked him.

"Instructor, can the Class Leader position be given to someone else?" Lin Ming looked at Instructor Zhang Man as he asked. He decided to make an effort and let someone else take it.

"This was everyone's decision, so it cannot be changed. Being Class Leader is not troublesome. There will not even be one or two occasions in a year when you need to step in, so it will not affect you. Besides, if you do not become Class Leader and something really happens, if you, a Dou Master, end up clashing with someone, who would be able to stop you? So do your job properly." Instructor Zhang Man left after saying that, leaving Lin Ming alone.

"Ah, I hope so!" What else could he do now? He could only accept it.