"Cough, cough. I'll keep this brief."
"Young men grow old, but learning is hard to master; not a moment of time should be taken lightly. Before we know it, spring dreams of pondside grass will be gone, and the leaves before the steps will already be sounding of autumn."
"Everyone, cherish your time and study hard!"
"Otherwise, when you're old—when you're fifty and only at level thirty—it'll be too late for regrets."
Qin Qi coughed a few more times, then delivered the speech he had prepared long ago. He even recited a poem.
"Clap, clap, clap!"
Principal of Notting immediately stood up and began applauding. He thought Qin Qi had spoken exceptionally well.
"This kid... gave a pretty good speech!"
"That poem was good, too. 'Young men grow old, but learning is hard to master; not a moment of time should be taken lightly.' Isn't that a reflection of us Spirit Masters?"
"Did the kid write that himself?"
After hearing Qin Qi's lines, the other three principals savored them over and over. After a long while, they finally asked.
"Believe me, I really didn't write that speech."
"The kid really did write it himself."
Principal of Notting spoke up.
"We believe that."
The three principals nodded together.
"Phew. Looks like I do have some credibility after all."
Seeing everyone nod, Principal of Notting breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Qi had really done well this time.
If they misunderstood him because of something he'd done, he'd have made a terrible mistake.
"No, it's not because you have any credibility. We all know how little ink you've got in your belly. You couldn't write lines like that."
The principal who had lost his temper earlier spoke with undisguised sarcasm.
"..."
Principal of Notting's face darkened at once. He considered himself a man of letters, and he'd written plenty of poems in the past.
But people always said they were garbage, doggerel. Especially his masterpiece, "Counting Leaves."
"One leaf, two leaves, three, four leaves; four leaves, five leaves, six, seven leaves." What wonderful lines! Yet they insisted they were complete nonsense.
What a bunch of uncultured fools.
"Even if the principal isn't much of a person, this student really is impressive... Why not let me have him?"
"Let him come to our academy. I'll make sure he gets plenty of support."
The academy principals felt Qin Qi had more than just talent; he had a fine character, too. He was bound to achieve great things!
"Dream on..."
Principal of Notting spoke up.
Meanwhile, the students...
"Clap, clap, clap, clap!"
"Hey, what do those lines mean?"
"No idea. I usually get second-to-last in culture class."
"If you don't know, why are you clapping so hard?"
"Didn't you see the principal and teachers clapping? We can't go wrong if we follow their lead."
"Holy crap! You're right, brother. You're a genius. By the way, what's the person in last place like? Where are they?"
"The one in last place had a stomachache and didn't come. Before this, I was always last."
The students had no idea what Qin Qi's speech meant, but that didn't matter. They could just clap along with everyone else.
After all, if you understood the applause, then clapping meant you understood.
Once Qin Qi finished his speech, he stepped down from the podium. Next up was Xiao Wu, who had come in second.
Xiao Wu walked onto the podium. She looked around at the people, then finally turned to Qin Qi.
"Do I have to recite a poem, too?"
Xiao Wu asked with her eyes.
"Yes."
Qin Qi nodded.
"Help me! I can't do it!"
Xiao Wu slept through culture class most of the time. She hadn't even learned all the characters yet.
Qin Qi didn't respond to Xiao Wu. He had already found a place where no one else was around and begun checking his system information.
[ Ding! Congratulations on unlocking the Academy Series Quest: The First in Notting Academy's History, Unprecedented and Unrivaled! ]
"What is this Academy Series Quest, system?"
Qin Qi asked silently.
[ Life is like an exam with no chance to turn back, and the quest before you is your first test! ]
[ The Academy Series Quest has six stages, one for each grade. After completing each stage, your reward will be calculated based on your results. ]
[ If, upon graduation, you achieve the title of the first in Notting Academy's history, unprecedented and unrivaled, you will receive a special reward! ]
"Hmm..."
Qin Qi read the message and finally understood what it meant. In short, he had to come first in every grade.
He had to rank first in culture classes, first in Martial Soul classes, and first in every other area, too, to get the best reward.
And it wasn't just once. He had to stay the best from first grade all the way through sixth!
"System, how do I achieve the title of unprecedented and unrivaled? If I stay in first place the whole time, will that do it?"
Qin Qi was still a little confused about this, so he asked silently.
[ Please do not cheat on the exam. Find the answer on your own. ]
"So there really is a catch."
After hearing the system's response, Qin Qi immediately came to a conclusion. Even if he ranked first in every subject in every grade,
he probably still wouldn't achieve the title of unprecedented and unrivaled. After all, who knew if someone in the future might be a better student?
Qin Qi studied the system quest for a while longer. By the time night fell, people from the other academies had all gone back.
The principal called Qin Qi into his office alone.
"Qin Qi, you did very well this time. I'm proud of you."
"I..."
The principal was getting ready to launch into a long speech.
"Principal, you're not going to give me a few words of praise and then withhold my scholarship, are you?"
Qin Qi looked at him suspiciously. He felt the shameless old man was perfectly capable of doing that.
"Cough, cough. Of course not! I'm the principal. Why would I withhold a student's scholarship?"
"Here are five hundred Gold Soul Coins. Take them. This is the scholarship for winning the competition."
"And these five hundred are a reward from our academy for an outstanding student. That makes one thousand Gold Soul Coins in all."
The principal took out a money pouch. When he opened it, it was full of glittering Gold Soul Coins.
"Gulp!"
Looking at the gleaming Gold Soul Coins, Qin Qi couldn't help swallowing. His heart began pounding like mad.
It really wasn't his fault for getting carried away. Ever since he'd arrived on Douluo Continent, he'd never had enough money.
At first, he couldn't even afford food. Later, he slowly saved enough to cultivate.
The one Gold Soul Coin he received after becoming a Spirit Master had been the biggest fortune he'd ever seen!
Now, one thousand Gold Soul Coins... He felt as if he were swimming in an ocean of wealth!
"Cough, cough. Principal, I'll take the five hundred, but I feel I'm not worthy of the five hundred from the academy."
Qin Qi took a deep breath. There was no such thing as a free lunch, much less a free breakfast, dinner, or snack.
The principal wouldn't give him a scholarship on top of the competition prize for no reason. There had to be a price to pay!
"Of course it's not a handout. You have to be an outstanding student at our academy."
"You can't transfer to another academy, and once you make something of yourself, you have to come back and give a speech here."
The principal didn't beat around the bush with Qin Qi. He stated his intentions plainly.
"Hmm... All right."
Qin Qi thought it over and agreed. The other academies might offer him more if he went to one of them.
But there was no such thing as a free lunch. If you took more money from someone, you had to do more for them.
Rather than that, he might as well take what was offered here. At least it meant less hassle.
"Principal, you may be shameless, but I have to admit you're a good principal!"
Qin Qi looked at him. The man liked to put on airs, and he had no shame,
but he really was a good principal. He worked hard to develop Notting Academy and help its reputation grow.
He truly did his best to seize every opportunity!
"Who are you calling shameless? I'll kick you, believe me."
The principal felt Qin Qi was complimenting him, but it would've been better if he'd left out that bit about being shameless.
"I believe you. To avoid getting beaten up, I'll be going now."
Qin Qi smiled, took the money, and left. At the doorway, he added, "Principal, don't worry. I took your money, so I'll do the job."
"When I've made something of myself, I'll definitely come back and give a speech!"
"..."
Watching Qin Qi walk away, the principal felt fired up, though he wasn't sure what exactly was firing him up.
After all that talking, after all that getting fired up, it still came down to giving a speech!