All Preparations Made, Awaiting Student Recruitment

After squeezing them for two and a half months—up at six and asleep at twelve, maintaining this for seventy-five days—it was only right to let them rest for a day so they could properly handle the recruitment the day after tomorrow.

However, while they could rest, Chen An could not.

Although the Technique Pavilion had been renovated with arrays and barriers, the entry requirements still needed to be refined.

He spent half an hour adjusting the arrays and had a "friendly" communication and exchange with the book spirits; under various pressures, they had no choice but to compromise.

He adjusted it so that the most core, innermost techniques required a token, while the outer perimeter required a verification of strength.

"Next are the Heart-Forging Hall and the Herb Garden."

The Heart-Forging Hall was easy enough; it was essentially a place for introspection. He just needed to find a building and renovate it slightly.

Sitting in meditation inside would provide a baptismal effect; the only thing to consider was what kind of baptism to use.

In the end, he decided to integrate the three teachings and divide the area into three distinct zones.

Of course, he had scheduled a tiny bit of the Library's origin energy into this.

Not much, just enough for the geniuses to undergo a few rounds of "Dragon Arena Inquiry," and it was self-replenishing at that.

As for the Library's origin energy, the volume was massive, the recovery was fast, and it was practically inexhaustible; it was just that the portion Chen An could currently schedule was limited.

Once his own origin energy was replenished, Chen An hurried to the next location.

"Now, for the Herb Garden."

This was the same thing as the herb nursery. Previously, it was unidirectional cultivation and unidirectional harvesting, but now it needed to be anchored to reality.

After much thought, the only place in the academy suitable for this secret realm was the back mountain.

Thus, he set up a teleportation array and added a secret realm gate as a backup.

Behind the secret realm gate was now a small world, and the spiritual energy inside was incredibly dense.

The array he laid down was specifically designed to prevent the true energy inside from leaking out into the Douluo world.

After all, the spiritual energy of that small world wasn't even enough to be assimilated by the Douluo world.

"Tsk, the only things left are the Myriad Beast Arena and the Soul Tower, but the conditions for those aren't met yet."

"But after the recruitment, the most important thing is to condense spiritual energy and renovate the academy."

The current spiritual energy in the academy was enough for the few of them to absorb, but once there were more people, it would inevitably thin out. The current gathering arrays would also need to be upgraded to level 90 to handle the load.

His martial arts were also linked to his level.

Looking at the source stones, he had some ideas, waiting to make his move once he reached level 90.

"Alright, it's getting late. Time to sleep."

The moon had already climbed into the sky, spilling its light across the mountain forest.

In the ripples of a sweet dream, Chen An dreamt that he had taken in many disciples—disciples from all sorts of worlds—and was revered as the Grandmaster.

"Everyone knows today's mission, right?"

"We do."

Early in the morning, Chen An got up to gather the trio and assigned them their tasks for the day.

Each was responsible for recruitment in a specific area. Of course, they weren't in Suotuo City, which was why he had to gather them so early; they would travel today and could officially start recruiting tomorrow.

"Good, get moving."

Chen An clapped his hands. He was missing a cigar; otherwise, he looked exactly like some crime boss clapping his hands to give orders to his underlings.

"Yes, Sir."

The title "Sir" was something Chen An had specifically emphasized; calling him "Lord" or "Boss" didn't feel quite right.

After all, he was an academy principal, not some noble, nor was he a gangster. Even if he was putting on an act, he had to maintain a sense of elegance.

After they left, Chen An continued to organize the academy.

Fortunately, what he needed to do today didn't require as much effort as yesterday—just things like the livestock farm and the fruit and vegetable fields.

He could have imported these from outside, but he didn't trust the source; he wouldn't even know if he were being poisoned. Besides, it was expensive.

The profits from reselling herbs were only enough to support them until the new students enrolled.

These facilities had originally been operating within the secret realm; now, he was simply fixing them in place, to be managed by others later, such as students taking on side jobs.

By the time he finished, it was already the next day.

Zhu Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi found him, and seeing that Chen An wasn't in his room, they knew their teacher had pulled an all-nighter.

After all, Chen An was famous among them for not getting out of bed until the sun was high in the sky.

"Master, are you alright? You haven't slept all night. Why don't we go handle the recruitment instead?"

Girls always had a more delicate touch; Luo Xiaoshi certainly wouldn't have blurted out those words.

He patted Zhu Zhuqing on the shoulder and said, "Your master is fine. My level is high; I can handle the lack of sleep."

At his level, not closing his eyes for a dozen days wasn't an issue; it was something easily solved by guiding his soul power.

Usually, he simply enjoyed maintaining these mortal habits.

He had no interest in becoming a god, nor did he wish to detach himself from humanity once his strength increased.

"Fair enough."

Zhu Zhuqing muttered to herself, but Chen An could naturally hear her—his ears were sharp—so he spoke up.

"Let's set off as well; those teachers are likely starting their recruitment already."

Under normal circumstances, the seniority of Zhu Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi was higher than that of the trio, but when working, they had to address them as teachers; this was the rule, and there was nothing wrong with that.

(￣▽￣)و

They reached Suotuo City in just a few steps, entirely because Chen An had purchased several carriages.

While searching for the trio, he had taken the opportunity to sell some items and auction off a few valuables.

Thus, he was a bit more well-off now.

He hadn't done this before simply because he was lazy; he couldn't be bothered to run around selling things.

If one sold too much or too frequently, they would eventually be recognized and become a target of interest.

"Master, where are we going to recruit students?"

Upon arriving in Suotuo City, the two children were a bit bewildered; it was their first time doing such a thing, so being unfamiliar with the business was normal.

They only knew that today was when the various intermediate academies were either starting their holidays or holding graduations.

"Hehe, what we are going to do is poach the student source from others."

Chen An smirked. He had no intention of setting up a proper booth—it was too slow—especially when there were others already gathering students.

Moreover, since they weren't interested in that specific batch of people, Chen An would naturally accept the leftovers with a smile.

"Zhuqing knows where we are going to collect people."

Luo Xiaoshi was confused; Master and Senior Sister were doing things behind his back again without telling him.

But now that he had practiced the Nameless Heart Scripture—no, wait, he had already mastered the basics of the Great Sage Scripture—he had inherited some of the Great Sage's shrewdness.

He guessed it must have something to do with the time Senior Sister went out the other day, but it was better to remain silent for now.

"Oh, I understand, Master."

"As long as you know, then off you go."

"Ah? We go? Then what about you, Master?"

Zhu Zhuqing asked in astonishment, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Such a good opportunity for training, I must leave it for you to practice, of course."

At this moment, Luo Xiaoshi tugged on the corner of Zhu Zhuqing's sleeve and said.

"Then we'll be going first; see you later, Teacher."

Being as clever as a monkey, he naturally understood Chen An's intent—it was nothing more than wanting to be lazy.

Anyway, since they had come to Suotuo City, if anything happened, they could naturally find him, so there was nothing to fear.

Zhu Zhuqing was pulled along and also understood the meaning; their emotional intelligence was about the same, and what Luo Xiaoshi could understand, she could too.

Otherwise, how could she have survived in that hellish place?

"Sigh, misunderstanding my intentions again."

Chen An sighed. Who plays their trump card at the very start?

Besides, he really did have business to attend to.

He moved to the commoner district of Suotuo City and knocked on the door of a house.

"Who is it?"

A woman's voice came from inside; judging by the state of her voice, she was exhausted.

When the door opened and he saw her, she looked utterly heartbroken and dejected, clearly having just suffered a major blow.

"Sister Ran, long time no see."

Upon seeing Chen An, the woman immediately tried to shut the door.

"Hey, Sister Ran, don't. I'm not here to mock you."

But she firmly closed the door anyway, waiting a while before opening it again. When she reappeared, her face had been touched up, looking less haggard than before.

"What business does the handsome Chen An have with a dejected person like me who's been kicked out?"

"Don't say that. Can't I visit an old friend? But I do have a matter to discuss."

"I knew you wouldn't visit me if you didn't have a reason. Speak, then. However, I no longer work for the Heaven Dou Imperial Family; if it involves them, I cannot help you."

Lin Ran gave a bitter smile, as if mocking herself, with a sense of distance in her tone.

"Sister Ran, I would like to invite you to serve as the administrative director of my academy. You are proficient in mental arithmetic and statistics, and your integrity is something my academy is in dire need of."

Chen An had known Lin Ran for quite a while and understood her character; otherwise, why would he have rushed over to invite her the moment he heard she had offended the Heaven Dou Imperial Family?

"That's fine, as long as you aren't afraid of my enemies."

I had expected to do some more persuading, but I never imagined she would agree so readily.

"I'm not afraid, but don't you need to think it over a bit more?"

Lin Ran felt as though her old friend might be ill, but she explained anyway.

"First, this is an invitation from you, and you wouldn't lead me into a trap. Second, I've already fallen this far and am carrying the hatred of the Imperial family, yet you still dare to employ me—what else do I have to fear?"