Asking for Leave

The registration began, and the new students stepped forward one by one to report their names, levels, and ages.

"Ruo Chen, Dou Zhi Qi stage nine, twenty years old."

"Grade E."

"Li Chengfei, Dou Zhi Qi stage eight, nineteen years old."

"Grade F."

"..."

After a dozen or so people had reported, the highest was only a one-star Dou Zhe, nineteen years old, Grade D.

When it was Xiao Yan's turn, the gazes in the tent all converged on him.

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and said with a smile, "Xiao Yan, four-star Dou Zhe, sixteen years old."

"Grade A."

Ruo Lin's eyes lit up, and she said with a smile, "Not bad. This trip to Wutan City has certainly been worthwhile."

Xiao Yan stepped back, and Xiao Xun'er stepped forward.

"Xiao Xun'er, six-star Dou Zhe, sixteen years old."

As soon as these words were spoken, the tent fell into absolute silence.

A six-star Dou Zhe? At sixteen?

This is even higher than Grade S!

Ruo Lin was stunned for several seconds before she regained her senses, and the way she looked at Xiao Xun'er had completely changed.

"It seems I have really struck gold this time."

Xiao Yan stood to the side and gave a wry smile; he was also shocked by Xiao Xun'er. This girl had hidden her strength quite well.

Ruo Lin took a deep breath to calm her mood, then looked toward Ye Xiu.

Ruo Lin asked softly, "This student, what is your name? What is your strength?"

He was quite handsome, but Ruo Lin didn't hold much expectation for a student who could remain so low-key; either his strength was lacking and he was deliberately hiding his clumsiness, or it was simply his personality to avoid showing off.

Judging by his appearance, it looked more like the former.

Ye Xiu glanced at Ruo Lin and then said indifferently, "Ye Xiu, three-star Dou Ling, fifteen years old."

"???"

The tent was so quiet for a moment that one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone felt as if they had heard something unbelievable, staring at him with wide eyes.

A three-star Dou Ling?

Fifteen years old?

How could these two things be combined into a single sentence?

Everyone's mouths were open wide enough to fit a fist. Just a moment ago, they thought Xiao Yan was a freak, then Xiao Xun'er popped up, and now, even more ruthlessly, a Dou Ling had appeared? Was this for real?

After a long while, Ruo Lin finally spoke with difficulty, "What did you just say? A three-star Dou Ling?"

Ye Xiu nodded. "Mm."

Ruo Lin took a deep breath, then stood up, walked in front of Ye Xiu, and looked him up and down.

She couldn't believe it, but as a Da Dou Shi, she found she couldn't see through Ye Xiu at all.

Xiao Yan, standing to the side, spoke up, "Senior is truly a Dou Ling expert. I was shocked when I learned that Senior was coming to participate in the Jianan Academy recruitment. With Senior's strength, you would be more than qualified to be a teacher!"

"You, are you really a Dou Ling?" Ruo Lin's voice was filled with doubt.

Ye Xiu couldn't be bothered to argue with her and released a sliver of his aura.

Everyone in the tent instantly felt the Dou Qi within their bodies descend into chaos; their faces flushed red as they scrambled backward.

Ruo Lin's face turned pale as well. She was the closest to Ye Xiu and felt it the most. That powerful aura made it impossible for her to even move.

It wasn't until that aura was retracted.

The tent was filled with the sound of gasping. Everyone's gaze toward Ye Xiu had changed; they were looking at him as if he were a monster.

Ruo Lin gripped the table, her chest heaving violently, and it took her quite a while to recover.

She looked at Ye Xiu, her expression incredibly complex.

A fifteen-year-old three-star Dou Ling—what kind of concept was that?

In the entire Jia Ma Empire, such a monster had not appeared in hundreds of years!

She opened her mouth, smiled bitterly, and shook her head. "I have been leading the Jianan Academy recruitment team for so many years, and this is the first time I have seen a... monster like you."

Ye Xiu said, "Then how should my potential value be calculated?"

Ruo Lin was stunned for a moment, then smiled even more bitterly. "How is this supposed to be calculated? Grade S is a five-star Dou Zhe, and you are already a Dou Ling; the gap is just too large... This... this must be considered Grade SSS, right?"

No one in the tent spoke, but everyone nodded in their hearts.

Indeed, this was simply impossible to measure by their standards.

Ruo Lin rubbed her forehead, feeling a bit of a headache coming on. She had originally thought Xiao Yan was surprising enough, but then Xun Er turned out to be even more formidable, and now a Dou Ling had popped out of nowhere!

She took a deep breath, sat back down, picked up her pen, and wrote Ye Xiu's name on the parchment.

"Ye Xiu, fifteen years old, three-star Dou Ling, potential rating, SSS-rank."

The registration continued, but no one cared about the strength reported by the others anymore; everyone's thoughts were still fixed on Ye Xiu.

Once all the new students were registered, Ruo Lin put away the parchment and said with a smile, "That's all for today's registration. We will stay in Wutan City for seven days, and after seven days, a flying caravan will come to take you to the academy. Use these few days to prepare whatever you need."

The new students nodded one after another and prepared to leave.

Just then, Xiao Yan suddenly stepped forward and said with a dry laugh, "Instructor Ruo Lin, I have something I'd like to discuss with you..."

Ruo Lin glanced at him. "What is it?"

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and said with some embarrassment, "I would like to... ask for a leave of absence."

"A leave of absence?" Ruo Lin was stunned. "For how long?"

Xiao Yan was silent for a moment before saying, "About a year."

Those who hadn't left the tent yet stopped in their tracks, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

Asking for a year of leave right after enrolling? Was there something wrong with his head?

Ruo Lin was also stunned, then she couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "Xiao Yan, are you joking with me? A year of leave? Do you realize that's equivalent to taking a third of your total study time?"

Xiao Yan said earnestly, "Instructor, I'm not joking. I really have something very important to do, and I have to go."

Ruo Lin frowned. "What could be so important?"

Xiao Yan shook his head apologetically. "This... it's not very convenient to say."

Ruo Lin sighed. "Xiao Yan, your talent is excellent. You could receive the best training at the academy, so why waste time going elsewhere?"

Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile. "Instructor, I really have no other choice."

Ruo Lin thought for a moment and said, "Then take a shorter leave. Would half a year work?"

Xiao Yan shook his head. "A year is already the most conservative estimate."

Ruo Lin felt a headache coming on. Why was this kid so stubborn?

Just as she was about to persuade him further, a voice suddenly came from the side.

"I want to ask for leave too."

Ruo Lin turned her head to look and saw that it was Ye Xiu who had spoken.

She was stunned. "You want to ask for leave too? For how long?"

Ye Xiu: "Depends on my mood."

Ruo Lin: "..."

Xiao Yan alone was enough to give her a headache, and now this even more formidable one was joining in the fun.

"Ye Xiu, why are you asking for leave?" Ruo Lin asked helplessly.

Ye Xiu thought for a moment and said casually, "I have some things to do."

Ruo Lin stared at him for a long time before saying helplessly, "Don't tell me you also have to go no matter what?"

Ye Xiu nodded. "Mm."

Ruo Lin rubbed her temples, feeling her head buzzing.

Beside them, Xiao Yan was taken aback; he hadn't expected Ye Xiu to ask for leave as well. He couldn't help but ask, "Is the senior also going to take care of some business?"

Ye Xiu glanced at him without saying a word.

Xiao Yan gave a sheepish laugh and stopped asking.

Ruo Lin looked at the two of them, silent for a long while, before suddenly asking, "You two, you didn't plan this together, did you?"

Xiao Yan quickly shook his head. "No, no, I really didn't know the senior was going to ask for leave too."

Ye Xiu also said, "Just a coincidence."

Ruo Lin sighed and looked at Xiao Yan. "You first—tell me, what do you want to do with your leave? If the reason is acceptable, I might consider it."

Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "Instructor, I really can't say, but this matter is extremely important to me."

Ruo Lin's brows furrowed even tighter; this kid was truly impossible to reason with.

She turned to look at Ye Xiu. "What about you? You can't say either?"

Ye Xiu thought for a moment and said, "I need to go to the west to take care of some business."

Ruo Lin was stunned. "The west? What are you going there for?"

Ye Xiu said, "To find something."

Ruo Lin pressed, "What thing?"

Ye Xiu glanced at Xiao Yan, then said to Ruo Lin, "You don't need to know."