April 24, Friday.
According to First University's teaching plan, this had originally been the opening day of the spring hunt. But given the complicated situation both on and off campus, and the difficulty of guaranteeing student safety, the school postponed the plan. Moreover, according to well-informed Student Union insiders, First University was very likely to cancel this year's spring hunt altogether.
Like the winter hunt, the spring hunt was a practical arena for students to hone their magical abilities, held once each semester. The points earned from hunting often accounted for a considerable portion of the annual practical assessment.
Thus, rumors that the spring hunt would be canceled struck Jiuyou Academy students, who cared deeply about points, like a bolt from the blue.
After all, unlike Alpha Academy students, most Jiuyou Academy students did not place much importance on extracurricular practical activities, and few were enthusiastic about participating in clubs. Therefore, the two school-organized hunts in winter and spring were among the main ways for these students to earn practical points.
And now, with Alpha Academy and Jiuyou Academy nearly tied in their annual overall scores, word that the school intended to cancel the spring hunt inevitably set Jiuyou students' imaginations running wild.
Over the past week, Zheng Qing had heard more than once such conspiracy theories as, "Alpha Academy lobbied to cancel the spring hunt," and, "Alpha is trying to lower Jiuyou Academy's overall score by sabotaging its practical points."
To be fair, how many practical points Jiuyou Academy students could gain through the spring hunt was debatable in the first place, not to mention that Alpha Academy students could likewise earn a great many practical points from it. Therefore, any student with even a little logical ability ought to have dismissed such conspiracy theories with contempt.
But the