I Thought It Would Taste Like Sandrone's Machine Oil

Gu Rong appeared beside Ning Fengzhi in an instant, startling him.

"Uncle Gu, weren't you going to see Rongrong?"

Gu Rong stroked his beard and gazed enviously at the radiant Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

"I heard about the reward, so I came back. Is this the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda? Doesn't that mean you can break through to Titled Douluo too, Fengzhi?"

Ning Fengzhi nodded with a smile. At last, he had a chance to glimpse the legendary realm of Titled Douluo.

"Yes, Uncle Gu. We'll go to the Star Dou Forest first, then find Rongrong. Don't worry, I've already chosen a Soul Beast."

Ning Fengzhi's eyes burned with anticipation. He had waited for this day for so long, and now he could finally absorb his Eighth Soul Ring.

After the reward for ninth place was announced, the Sky Screen seemed to fall silent.

It looked as though eighth place would not be announced today.

Su Yun stretched.

"Looks like it's time for me to go out and gain some experience."

"Hm? Are you going out to play, Su Yun? Are you going to the moon?"

Looking at the adorable Columbina, Su Yun felt a little nervous. Surely nobody actually thought she was sweet and innocent?

Even Nezha would have to say "I'm a Spirit Pearl" in the face of a demon king like Columbina.

As the saying went: when a girl went quiet, she was surely brewing mischief.

Su Yun wasn't entirely comfortable leaving her at Teyvat Academy.

After all, Sandrone was researching Space Soul Tools. It wouldn't do to have Columbina constantly disturbing her.

"Let's wait until after afternoon tea. Then Venti can give us a lift."

As for the old man, he was even faster than Venti. According to Venti, Zhongli could often be seen at the most expensive restaurant in Heaven Dou City, strolling about with a bird and sipping tea like an elderly gentleman.

The bill would be sent to Ningguang's Teyvat Merchants' Guild anyway, so he had nothing to worry about.

Ningguang was happy to earn money for Zhongli to spend, too. After all, practically everyone in Liyue adored Zhongli.

Once everyone had left, Su Yun was alone in the room.

"System."

A screen of light appeared in his mind.

[Teyvat Academy System]

[Principal: Su Yun]

[Teachers: Venti, Zhongli, Columbina, Sandrone...]

[Student: Zhu Zhuqing]

The screen was simple. Apart from those four lines, there was only a teacher-draw system in the upper right corner.

It was similar to Genshin Impact's character draws, except that every character was in one pool.

He opened the student interface.

Student: Zhu Zhuqing

Teacher: Rosaria

Soul Power Level: 28

Su Yun remembered Zhu Zhuqing having level 27 Soul Power in the original story. Had she advanced to level 28 on her very first day at the academy?

After some thought, he could only attribute it to her Vision.

And with a draw system, there were bound to be Intertwined Fates and Acquaint Fates.

The more students the academy had, the more people he could bring over from Teyvat, and the more people he could save from the Abyss's encroachment.

"There's a long road ahead."

He opened the reward for Zhu Zhuqing joining the academy. Because her fortune was relatively great, he had received a full five Intertwined Fates.

It seemed he needed to recruit more students. Given the teachers' temperaments, though, they wouldn't accept just anyone.

He would have to send them out to gain some experience now and then.

That reminded Su Yun of something. If he drew duplicates, would that let him upgrade the teachers too?

He gave his room a quick tidy. After all, he was going out to lure children into the academy tomorrow. Too bad he didn't have a Serenitea Pot.

If he wanted more Intertwined Fates, he could only seek out people blessed with great fortune and bring them into Teyvat Academy.

He suddenly remembered that Douluo Continent had an Abyss too.

That was a matter for Douluo III, though.

After tidying his room, he went to the office hall, handled some Teyvat Academy business with Jean, and looked over the Merchants' Guild's progress.

"Hm? Jean, what's this orphan adoption plan from Ningguang?"

Jean came over, examined the file carefully, and said,

"It's a plan to take in orphans—usually children orphaned by natural disasters or Evil Soul Masters, or abandoned by their families—and train them for Teyvat Academy's army."

Su Yun considered it. The plan was certainly workable. They couldn't expect Rosaria to run everywhere on her own two legs.

"That really is a good idea. With people recruited from outside, you never know what's in their hearts. Better to raise our own."

He skimmed the finances. The Merchants' Guild could now support itself, except that fifty percent of its revenue went to Zhongli...

No wonder you're the God of Wealth! All the bills go to Ningguang, while everything you buy stays in your hands.

Su Yun worked in the office hall until after two in the afternoon. Then a Moon Spirit appeared outside the window and waved at him.

Only Columbina would send a Moon Spirit to call him.

He closed his book, rubbed his eyes, and said to Jean,

"Jean, let's go have afternoon tea. They're probably ready by now."

Jean still had a small stack of files in front of her. Without looking up, she said,

"Principal, you go ahead. Once I've finished..."

Before she could finish, Su Yun pulled her to her feet.

"Oh, come on. You can finish when we get back. Sandrone made the desserts today!

"Desserts made for you by the Puppet, the Fatui's Seventh Harbinger. Aren't you tempted?"

Desserts made by the Puppet, the Fatui's Seventh Harbinger? Hearing that, Jean really was tempted.

Su Yun half-dragged her to the dining room of the principal's building.

Calling it the principal's building wasn't quite right. It was more of a residential area for teachers and their families.

For now, the residences were all small, single-story houses.

Su Yun's home, for instance, had only one floor. That meant Columbina could stand in the yard, open his window, and sing to him.

Since everyone had built their own houses, they came in all manner of strange shapes.

Sandrone's house had a huge gear sticking out of its roof.

Columbina's house had been made by Moon Spirits, and they had decorated it with plenty of Moon-Prayer Flowers.

By the time they reached the dining room, Sandrone had finished making the desserts and prepared two pots of tea.

One held green tea; the other held milk tea.

Before Su Yun even entered, he heard Venti wail.

"Why can't we drink wine at a tea party?"

"Who drinks wine at a tea party? This is a tea party, not a wine party!"

Su Yun pushed open the door and saw Sandrone bristling like an angry kitten, Venti looking dejected, Zhongli sipping tea, and Columbina eating a croissant.

Sandrone's cheeks were puffed up. Her long flaxen hair was tied back, with just two locks falling past her shoulders to the front, and she wore a bonnet.

She still had an apron on, and her blue eyes were fixed firmly on Venti.

When Su Yun came in, Venti had no choice but to put away the Dandelion Wine he had brought. He sat down and started gnawing on a croissant.

Su Yun sat beside Columbina and picked one up. It looked crisp and well baked, with a fine dusting of white sugar on top.

He turned to Columbina and asked curiously,

"Is it good?"

Columbina nodded and took a bite of the croissant in his hand.

"It's good. I thought it would taste like Sandrone's machine oil."