This Is What a Proper Academy Is Like

"Forget it. If you really want to take part, then do your best."

Seeing this, Dugu Yan stopped trying to persuade him.

She had done all she could. He wasn't anyone special to her, and saying this much was already more than enough.

"Don't worry, class monitor. I'm still waiting to join the Heaven Dou Team with you."

Just then, Dai Xuanyu said something whose meaning was hard to pin down.

"Ooh..." Shao Ruizhe made a strange noise.

He was the deskmate Dai Zhuang had met when he first arrived in Heavenly Supreme Class One.

His family had benefited greatly from the alliance between the two empires.

That was why he had been among the first in the class to show Dai Zhuang goodwill.

Over the past month or so, the two had naturally become good friends.

At that strange noise, Dugu Yan said coldly:

"Shao Ruizhe, if that last practical combat test wasn't enough for you, we can go a few more rounds later."

"Class monitor, I was wrong. I really was wrong." Shao Ruizhe hurriedly begged for mercy.

His comical display drew laughter from quite a few people.

For a time, the classroom buzzed with lively chatter.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy really is an interesting place.

Watching Shao Ruizhe play the clown and seeing everyone's reactions, Dai Xuanyu found it all rather amusing.

Scenes like this were hard to come by at Star Luo Royal Academy.

Even though Dai Xuanyu had never studied there, he knew that much perfectly well.

After all, he had visited Star Luo Royal Academy as a child and seen how things were done there.

Both were royal academies, and both admitted the children of nobles.

Unlike Heaven Dou Royal Academy, however, Star Luo Royal Academy leaned much more toward military-style discipline.

Even those who only wanted to coast through life and graduate in peace had to undergo their share of drills once they entered Star Luo Royal Academy.

By rights, that style of management should have drawn criticism.

Yet even the parents of those pampered noble children were thoroughly convinced and strongly approved of it.

Military-style discipline was nothing!

The rules governing competition among the Star Luo Imperial Family's direct descendants were terrifying, and they had never once been suspended.

So what was there to complain about if their own children trained a little harder at Star Luo Royal Academy?

Besides, a little extra training was hardly a bad thing.

"Young master, just as you predicted, members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family approached the ambassador today to discuss allowing Heaven Dou exchange students to take part in the Star Luo Team selection."

In a single-occupancy room in Heaven Dou Royal Academy's dormitory area, Dai Xing, a fellow exchange student, was respectfully reporting to Dai Xuanyu, who wore Dai Zhuang's appearance.

"What did Uncle Yuan say?" Dai Xuanyu asked.

Dai Xing quickly replied, "Young master, the ambassador is waiting for your opinion."

"Since the Heaven Dou Imperial Family has been generous enough to let us Star Luo exchange students take part in their selection,"

"the Star Luo Imperial Family shouldn't be stingy either. Tell Uncle Yuan to have our side agree to it."

Dai Xuanyu gave the order without a moment's hesitation.

"As you command, young master. I'll see to it at once."

"All right. You can go."

After Dai Xing left, Dai Xuanyu picked up the book on his desk again and continued reading.

Dai Xuanyu had been staying in Heaven Dou Royal Academy's dormitories all this time, rarely returning to the Embassy.

The main reason was that Dugu Yan often stayed in the academy's dormitory area too.

To make chance encounters easier, Dai Xuanyu had little choice but to live there as well.

Sometimes, though, he still needed to pass messages to his uncle, Dai Yuan.

That was where Dai Xing came in. He, too, belonged to a collateral branch of the imperial family and had come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy as an exchange student.

Under the perfectly natural pretext of visiting Dai Zhuang, he could receive whatever Dai Xuanyu wanted to convey.

Then, when Dai Xing returned to the Embassy that evening, he would pass it on to Ambassador Dai Yuan.

To avoid drawing attention, Dai Xuanyu did not rely on Dai Xing alone. He rotated among several other exchange students who were secretly loyal to the imperial family.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the Heavenly Supreme year group's midterm assessment arrived.

"Students without combat capabilities, such as support- and food-type soul masters, line up and follow me."

"The rest of you will follow Teacher Zhou in a moment for your assessment."

Qin Ming stood at the lectern and began making arrangements.

Now this is a proper academy. Dai Xuanyu nodded to himself.

Students who could fight would take part in practical combat tests for selection.

Those who could not would demonstrate their potential and worth through specialized tests.

That was standard practice at the continent's advanced Soul Master Academies. It was how a proper academy should operate.

Shrek Academy, by contrast, was truly lacking in such matters.

That remained true even in the future, after it became the continent's foremost Soul Master Academy ten thousand years later.

It still clung to the same old ways and never became properly organized.

Its supposedly excellent teachers still used outdated training methods like making students run laps in weighted vests.

Fortunately, Shrek Academy's students at the time were talented enough to keep it afloat.

Even another ten thousand years later, Shrek Academy still had not adopted proper standards.

It continued doing things its own rough-and-ready way and even went so far as to use a student test built around outright robbery.

No wonder it got blown up in the end.

"All right, follow me."

At Qin Ming's command, the students who had lined up filed out of the classroom.

"Dai Zhuang, are you confident?"

On the way, Shao Ruizhe, walking beside Dai Xuanyu, asked in a low, cautious voice.

He was afraid the other students might overhear him.

"Didn't what happened the day Zhou Cang challenged me prove my strength?" Dai Xuanyu said casually.

"I mean the selection for the Heaven Dou Team later on," Shao Ruizhe added quietly.

"Today isn't like that day. If you show too much monstrous talent in the midterm assessment, plenty of people will start targeting you."

"Some might even throw caution to the wind and resort to dirty tricks, just to keep you out of the selection."

As he spoke, Shao Ruizhe's tone grew heavier.

He seemed determined to make Dai Xuanyu understand how serious the problem was.

Dai Xuanyu countered, "Wouldn't those people already be wary of me after I defeated Zhou Cang in an instant with my bare hands?"

"The midterm assessment will just spread the news further."

Shao Ruizhe was left speechless by Dai Xuanyu's answer.

It was true. Ever since Dai Xuanyu had defeated Zhou Cang barehanded in an instant, then shown interest in the Heaven Dou Team selection a few days ago,

quite a few people had probably begun to see him as a thorn in their side.

"When soldiers come, send generals to stop them; when floods come, pile earth to hold them back." Dai Xuanyu patted Shao Ruizhe on the shoulder, his voice full of confidence.