In the office, Ye Qiong looked at Tribbie and spoke:
"Teacher Tribbie, a very important student will be enrolling tomorrow."
"What kind of student?"
Ye Qiong took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Tribbie:
"This is her application. Her name is Keleradra, the princess of the Balak Kingdom and its sole heir."
Tribbie took the paper and glanced over it. Her deep-blue eyes flickered:
"Royal blood?"
Ye Qiong shook his head:
"She's an adopted daughter, but her position is extremely secure."
Tribbie fell silent for a moment, then nodded:
"Then I'll go to Balak City myself tomorrow to bring her here."
"You're willing to make the trip?"
Tribbie smiled faintly:
"Having a princess join our academy will greatly benefit its future development."
"Besides, I'd like to take in a few more children."
Hearing that, Ye Qiong smiled in understanding and nodded:
"That works. You have a portal, so you can bring her here first thing tomorrow morning."
After helping Keleradra enroll successfully,
Ye Qiong returned to the office and let out a soft breath.
He leaned back in his chair and opened the system interface to view Keleradra's information.
[Name: Keleradra (Caesar)]
[Age: 12]
[Level: 33]
[Martial Soul: Scales of Justice (but manifested as chess pieces and a chessboard, which she uses to fight)]
[Academy Position: Student]
[Identity: Princess and sole heir of the Balak Kingdom.]
Looking at the information and the familiar face on the screen, memories suddenly surged through Ye Qiong's mind.
Keleradra, in his previous life, had been the empress of Amphoreus Okhema,
the ruler who sat atop a chessboard and wagered an entire city.
She never feared controversy, nor did she act for the sake of praise.
She made decisions like a chess player, with the odds of victory as her sole guiding principle.
As long as she could achieve her goal, she was willing to pay any price,
even to put herself on the gallows.
Ye Qiong still remembered that part of the game's story.
In the face of utter desperation, she chose to let Hysilens kill her with her own hands.
When that "tearjerker" scene appeared on the screen,
he sat in front of his computer in silence for a full five minutes.
And during those five minutes, his feelings had been especially complicated.
She could have found another way.
Yet in the end, she chose the most direct and most cruel path.
Because it gave her the highest chance of success...
"Shao Ji, you really have a litany of crimes to your name."
"But in this life, I won't let you take that path again."
Hopefully, he'd be able to pull Hysilens soon.
Then perhaps this ill-fated pair could find a happier ending here.
At the thought, Ye Qiong finally opened his own personal information for the first time since the system unlocked all its basic functions. He'd never looked at it before.
[Host: Ye Qiong.]
[Age: 16.]
[Academy Position: Principal.]
[Martial Soul: Pathfinder Baseball Bat.]
[Level: 74.]
[Soul Ring Configuration: Yellow (700), Purple (2,000), Purple (5,000), Black (10,000), Black (40,000), Black (70,000), Red (100,000).]
[Soul Skills...]
"The information's pretty comprehensive. I didn't expect my Martial Soul to really be called the Pathfinder Baseball Bat."
Simple and straightforward.
Then Ye Qiong noticed something: there was a red dot beneath his personal information on the system interface!
Curious, Ye Qiong tapped the red dot.
The next second, another pop-up appeared.
"Amphoreus Academy records?"
Ye Qiong read the words on the pop-up and paused, then reached out and tapped it.
Sure enough, the pop-up changed, revealing a whole new set of information.
[Academy Name: Amphoreus.]
[Academy Address: Suotuo City.]
[Academy Facilities Level: 1.]
[Academy Qualification: City.]
[Academy Funds: 3,000,000 Gold Soul Coins.]
[Academy Instructors: 2 (Tribbie, Ye Qiong).]
[Academy Students: 7 (5 ordinary students, 2 Chrysos Heirs).]
After reading the information, Ye Qiong wore a thoroughly baffled expression.
He could understand the academy facilities level, but what on earth was the qualification?
"System, what does this qualification mean?"
[Academy qualification is the system's assessment of an academy's influence in Douluo Continent.]
[Influence is divided into the following levels, from lowest to highest: village, town, city, district, province, kingdom, empire, continent, planet, and cosmos.]
[The current Amphoreus Academy has gained a certain amount of influence in Suotuo City, so its qualification is City.]
After hearing the system's explanation, Ye Qiong raised an eyebrow.
So that was it. But why did the influence levels go all the way up to cosmos?
"System, what purpose does academy qualification serve?"
[The higher the academy's qualification, the more generous the rewards granted by the system.]
"More generous? How so?"
[Once the host's academy reaches City level, an additional Star Jade reward mode will be unlocked. After a task is completed, the system will automatically add extra Star Jade to the base Star Jade reward. The higher the academy's qualification, the more Star Jade will be added.]
"How much extra can I get at City level?"
[Ten percent of the base Star Jade reward.]
After reading the system's explanation, Ye Qiong rubbed his chin, then opened his task interface.
[Improve the cultivation aptitude of five students other than the Chrysos Heirs. Reward: 2,000 Star Jade per student; receive one Special Card upon completing all five.]
"So if I improve the aptitude of Wang Sheng and the other four, I'll get a total of eleven thousand Star Jade?"
Ye Qiong's face immediately lit up with excitement.
This was fantastic news for him.
"Improve their aptitude, huh? I'll go make preparations right now."
Inside the office.
Ye Qiong took a map from his system inventory and spread it across the desk.
Tribbie stood opposite him, her gaze fixed on the map.
"Principal, you called me here to..."
Ye Qiong ran a finger over the map and stopped at one spot.
"Here."
Tribbie leaned closer, following his finger with her eyes.
"Sunset Forest?"
"That's right. Sunset Forest lies west of Heaven Dou City."
"What does that have to do with our academy?"
Ye Qiong withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair.
"As far as I know, there's a secret realm in Sunset Forest called the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well."
Tribbie blinked and waited for him to continue.
"That place is very special. Extreme cold and extreme heat coexist there, giving rise to countless rare treasures found nowhere else."
"And some of those treasures can improve their aptitude."
Tribbie's eyes lit up.
The five students' talents varied widely. Wang Sheng was only at level 21 at the age of fourteen.
No matter how diligently she taught them, without outside help, their potential would ultimately be limited.
"Principal! This information is incredibly important. With the help of those treasures, I'm confident I can help them shine at the upcoming Soul Master Tournament!"
Excitement appeared on Tribbie's face.
Lately, she really had been worried about the aptitude of Wang Sheng and the other children.
"But Principal, if that place is a secret realm, I'm guessing it won't be peaceful, right?"
Ye Qiong smiled without reservation:
"That's why I..."
Before you continue