"Don't display your ignorance at a time like this." Seeing Zheng Qing's bewildered expression, Xiao Xiao lowered his eyelids and returned his gaze to his notebook.
"To know what you know and know what you don't know—that is wisdom!" Zheng Qing shot back quickly.
"But in front of the other academies, you must learn to uphold our academy's honor." A stern voice came from nearby as a thin senior student in a red robe approached.
His cuffs and collar bore a black trim, marking him as a second-year student. Every time First University students advanced a grade, another black trim was added to their collars and cuffs, signifying that they were one step closer to the black robes of a Registered Wizard.
The freshmen around them looked at the upperclassman with awe.
"Don't be too stiff, but mind your appearance and keep formation." The senior looked at them and solemnly instructed, "Before the other academies, you represent Jiuyou. Each and every one of you is Jiuyou Academy. We can show our ignorance before our own people, but don't go flaunting your humility before those fellows."
Zheng Qing clamped his mouth shut, forcibly suppressing the urge to argue.
Silence is golden. Silence is golden.
He turned his gaze elsewhere.
Four distinct lines of freshmen stood in the square.
Jiuyou Academy's red robes and Starry Sky Academy's blue robes stood to the left of the stone gate; Alpha's white robes and Atlas Academy's yellow robes gathered to its right.
There were no trees around the square. Once the students had all landed, even the clouds in the sky had vanished completely. The blazing sunlight poured recklessly over the White Marble ground, and the freshmen's already dry collars gradually became soaked with sweat again.
The upperclassmen had not yet completely passed through the