Xirui

The moment the dean finished speaking, the bustling square fell quiet again.

No one wanted to miss their group assignment because they were busy whispering. At Spirit Hall Academy, the rule was that everything was announced only once.

Didn't hear it?

Sorry, you could go back the way you came.

The academy didn't accept students who couldn't follow the rules.

"Group One: Huo Sheng, Wang Qiming, Zeng Zhi, Xu Kun, Zhao Lele."

"Group Two: Chen Xing, Yang Dongfeng..."

The dean spoke quickly, as if he wasn't going to give the newcomers any time to react.

Mu Qian could understand. The man wasn't deliberately making things difficult for them.

There were more than five thousand people in the crowd. If he slowed down even a little, there'd be nothing else to do today but assign groups.

Mu Qian quietly watched as those whose names were called left the square without lingering and headed north along a path on the side.

Upperclassmen were scattered around the square, directing those who had left toward Death Canyon.

The examiners were already waiting there for the newcomers, but according to the information Hu Liena had shared beforehand, the examiners didn't usually show themselves.

They would only step in when someone's life was in danger—and that would also mean that student had been eliminated.

As for anyone who got lost along the way... that counted as a kind of test, too.

They wouldn't be eliminated outright, but they had only a month in total. The longer they wasted, the lower their chances of passing.

If they couldn't even find the place, sorry, they'd get a zero.

The sun climbed toward its zenith, and the trees' shadows in the square grew shorter and shorter. Gradually, only a handful of people remained.

Mu Qian still wore an impassive expression. According to the rules, those who set out earlier had an advantage, but in the face of overwhelming strength, that small advantage could be erased in an instant.

He might not even need to do anything. Hunting a single Spirit Beast that was over ten thousand years old would probably be enough to put him in the top five hundred.

So he and Zhu Zhuqing weren't in a hurry.

Before long, it was midday. The temperature had risen, and the little moisture in the air was evaporating.

Apart from Spirit Hall Academy staff, only three people remained in the square.

Mu Qian, Zhu Zhuqing, and... a pretty, charming girl.

As for Hu Liena and the old man who was probably Ghost Douluo, they had left partway through. He didn't know if they'd gone to Death Canyon or had other business.

"Looks like the academy's leadership has noticed our strength and put us in that group with only three people."

Mu Qian shook his head and looked at the girl not far away. "That must mean her strength is among the best of this year's newcomers, too, right?"

"Maybe she's even second only to Zhuqing and me?"

The girl looked young, about the same age as Mu Qian and Zhu Zhuqing. She was a little over 1.6 meters tall, almost as tall as Zhu Zhuqing.

Her long, pale-purple hair fell past her waist. Crystal-clear shoes covered her delicate feet, and pale-pink crystal chains adorned her ankles.

The girl seemed tired of standing. Beneath her short white dress, her slender, fair legs bent slightly at the knees. Each time she shifted, it was as though a clear chime rang out.

Perhaps sensing Mu Qian's gaze, the girl turned toward him and returned his look with a bright smile.

She was just as beautiful, but unlike Zhu Zhuqing's cool elegance or Hu Liena's bewitching allure, there was something almost dreamlike about her.

She seemed delicate and graceful, as if she didn't belong to the mortal world. Yet when her eyelashes fluttered, that dazzling smile seemed to draw her down from a celestial realm and into the world of mortals.

One could say she was a peerless beauty. Who knew how many hearts she would stir in the future?

Mu Qian nodded to acknowledge her, careful not to stare rudely. Still, he couldn't help wondering to himself.

"A-Mu, do you know her?" Zhu Zhuqing had noticed the girl, too.

The girl stood out too much. Zhu Zhuqing hadn't paid attention when the square was crowded, but now that only three people remained, it was impossible not to notice her.

Mu Qian shook his head. "I don't know her."

Logically speaking, a girl this striking would have been mentioned in the original story, regardless of her strength. But he couldn't recall anything about her.

The original story barely mentioned Spirit Hall Academy. The only ones who were really known and appeared by name were the three members of the Golden Generation.

Maybe she's a genius the original story never covered. Mu Qian thought no more of it.

It looked like the three of them would be assigned to the same group. They'd have plenty of time to get to know one another then.

"Group 1,021, the final group: Mu Qian, Zhu Zhuqing, Xirui."

Dean Matthew let out a sigh of relief. At last, he had called everyone's names.

He'd been at it all morning without a break. Even with Soul Power over level eighty, his mouth was dry.

At last, Mu Qian heard his name. He led Zhu Zhuqing forward, and the girl did the same.

Luckily, the three of them had been put in the same group, so there was no need to worry about splitting up.

"Xirui... Just a given name, with no surname?" Mu Qian glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

As the girl approached, a faint fragrance drifted around Mu Qian.

It was fresh and soothing, making him feel as if he were standing in a lush forest after the rain. He relaxed without even realizing it.

After the old man had left the platform, the dean was the highest-ranking person present.

Matthew looked at the three of them with approval and nodded. "You've been assigned to the smallest group. Do you have any objections?"

Mu Qian and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance and answered in unison, "No objections."

"Teacher, I have no objections either~" At the same time, a clear, lilting voice rang out beside them, sweet and utterly pure.

Matthew nodded. He couldn't hide the approval in his eyes. "Good. Let me remind you that more people aren't always a good thing. The hardest thing in this world to guard against is the human heart."

"You three are the most talented newcomers this year. I'm sure passing the examination won't be a problem for you. I'll be waiting for you at the academy."

Just as he said, the three of them were all but guaranteed to get into the academy.

Mu Qian especially. His terrifying Soul Power had reached level forty-two—a level Matthew had almost never heard of in someone his age!

The reason they'd still been required to take the examination, even after the academy had looked into their backgrounds, was simply to uphold the idea of fairness.

Of course, there was no such thing as true fairness in this world.

To protect the three of them, Spirit Hall had sent two Titled Douluo.

Mu Qian had already seen one of them. The other... had gone ahead to Death Canyon.