The opening ceremony officially began at eight in the morning, in the university's central auditorium.
As the freshman representative, Chen Fan had to arrive backstage half an hour early to wait for his turn.
By the time the two reached the auditorium, a sea of people already crowded the entrance.
Freshmen in matching moon-white uniforms headed inside in groups of three or five. Quite a few upperclassmen had come too, most of them for the newly arrived Professor Jiang.
All along the way, they could hear people discussing Chen Fan and Jiang Qingyuan. One was a monstrous genius among the freshmen, the other a newly recruited distinguished professor; together, they happened to be the two main attractions of this year's opening ceremony.
"Brother Fan, you're a legend among us freshmen now!" Fatty Wang shouted into Chen Fan's ear as he squeezed through the crowd. "On my way over just now, I heard at least ten groups talking about you. They're all guessing just what kind of mighty figure you are!"
Chen Fan remained perfectly calm. "Basic stuff. Don't cue me."
Inside the auditorium, the din was even louder. Nameplates had already been set out on the dais. University President Zhou Zhengyuan occupied the center, with the deans and professors of the various colleges arranged beside him. The nameplate at the very edge read "Jiang Qingyuan" in elegant, graceful lettering.
Chen Fan went backstage, greeted the student council members, and found a corner to wait in.
At eight sharp, the opening ceremony officially began.
The host was an associate dean from the College of Literature. In a booming voice, he opened with a heap of official platitudes before inviting President Zhou Zhengyuan to deliver his address.
Zhou Zhengyuan stepped onto the stage and gave a conventional speech lasting a little over ten minutes. It amounted to welcoming the freshmen, introducing the university's history, and encouraging everyone to study hard and develop in all areas.
The students below listened drowsily. Only the upperclassmen knew that the president's speech was never the main event-it was the introduction of the professors afterward.
Sure enough, once the president finished, the host said with a smile, "Next, let me introduce a distinguished professor newly recruited by our university this year.
"I believe many of you have already heard her name. She holds a doctorate from Jingfu University and is a core researcher at the Immortal Palace Research Institute. At just fifty years old, she has already joined the ranks of fourth-grade professors, with profound attainments in both sword Dao theory and full-dimensional cultivation.
"Let's welcome Professor Jiang Qingyuan with a round of applause!"
As his words fell, thunderous applause instantly erupted throughout the auditorium, more than ten times louder than it had been for the president's speech.
A figure clad in moon-white Daoist robes emerged from the side of the dais.
Her long hair was loosely gathered into a low bun, with a plain silver hairpin bearing a lotus motif tucked into it, revealing her smooth forehead and exquisite collarbones.
Her features were exceptionally beautiful, the outer corners of her eyes tilting slightly upward. Her irises were a pale, icy hue, like snow that never melted on a mountain peak. Her nose was fine and straight, her lips pale. Though her features were cold to the extreme, a barely perceptible smile lingered at the corners of her mouth, adding a few touches of languor.
When she stood before the lectern, the lights throughout the auditorium seemed to dim a little, all their radiance gathering upon her.
The audience instantly exploded into an uproar.
"Holy shit! She's ten thousand times prettier in person than in her photos!!"
"Nüwa's graduation project! She's definitely Nüwa's graduation project! I've never seen anyone this beautiful in my life!"
"She looks like she's in her twenties? Do all Mahayana Realm big shots stay this ageless?"
"Don't stop me! I'm transferring to sword Dao theory right now! Even if I fail every day, I'm taking Professor Jiang's classes!"
"Wake up. Don't you know how high the score requirements are for sword Dao theory? Only a monster like Chen Fan can compete in there."
"Mommy, I want foodies."
At those words, everyone nearby instantly fell silent, and looks of contempt came from all sides. So a Valorant junior had arrived!
The applause and cheers throughout the auditorium took a long while to die down.
Jiang Qingyuan inclined her head slightly. Her voice was cool and lovely, like beads of ice falling onto a jade platter. "Hello, everyone. I'm Jiang Qingyuan. For the next four years, I'll be teaching at Han University, primarily courses in sword Dao theory and full-dimensional practical combat. I look forward to progressing alongside you all."
Those brief words brought another wave of cheers from below.
Once she finished, she stepped back to stand at the edge of the dais, her posture straight, her bearing cool and otherworldly, drawing furtive glances from the audience every so often.
Li Mo, sitting in a corner of the freshman section, had been among those squeezing forward to take photos earlier.
Putting away his terminal, he told his roommate excitedly, "I've decided! From today onward, I'm setting Chen Fan as my goal. I'll cultivate hard and strive to become Professor Jiang's teaching assistant someday!"
His roommate rolled his eyes. "You? You've only achieved Foundation Establishment in one aspect during the Qi Refining Realm. Catch up enough to see his taillights first."
Unconvinced, Li Mo secretly took out his terminal, opened the intelligent assistant "Little White," and quietly typed a question: Little White, Little White, if I cultivate hard for ten double-hours every day, can I become a genius like Chen Fan?
Little White's electronic female voice soon sounded. "Hello. Following a comprehensive analysis of big data, I will deliver the conclusion in the simplest, most straightforward, least roundabout manner: as long as you persevere in your cultivation, you absolutely have a chance to match or even surpass his achievements."
Li Mo's eyes lit up, and he immediately perked up, nudging his roommate. "See! Even Little White says I can!"
His roommate scoffed. "Enter Chen Fan's accomplishments and ask again."
Refusing to admit defeat, Li Mo rapidly typed in Chen Fan's accomplishments: entered university with a false spirit root, opened eleven spirit meridians in two months, achieved full-dimensional Foundation Establishment in seventeen aspects during the Qi Refining Realm, ranked first in the freshman assessment.
He sent it.
The terminal went silent for three seconds.
Then Little White's gentle female voice sounded again, somehow carrying a hint of something that begged for a beating. "Sorry, I was actually lying to you. Hahahaha."
Li Mo: "..."
His roommate sprayed out a mouthful of spirit spring water. "Hahahahaha! Little White is savage! Have a little self-awareness, okay? Don't let other people hurt your scales!"
Li Mo shut off his terminal with a dark expression and said in grief and indignation, "What artificial idiocy!"
The people nearby heard him and burst out laughing too.
Jokes aside, everyone knew perfectly well that a genius of Chen Fan's caliber truly wasn't someone they could catch up to through hard work alone.
Just then, the host's voice rang out again, drawing everyone's attention back.
"Next, please welcome our freshman representative, Chen Fan from the Sword Dao Theory and Science major, to deliver his speech!"
The moment his words fell, the entire auditorium went silent for a second, then erupted into even more fervent discussion than before.
"Here he comes! The man himself!"
"Holy shit, we finally get to see him in person! The monster who achieved Foundation Establishment in all seventeen aspects!"
"Where is he? Where? Over by the freshman section?"
"He looks pretty scholarly and refined. Only a few leagues more handsome than me, that's all. Doesn't look like some fierce badass."
"Don't you know you can't judge a book by its cover? The more scholarly and refined someone is, the more formidable they tend to be."
Countless gazes turned in unison toward the aisle entrance in the freshman section, curiosity, admiration, envy, and all manner of emotions interweaving.
Under everyone's eyes, a youth in a clean school uniform emerged from the aisle entrance.
He stood tall and straight, his steps unhurried. There was little nervousness on his face; instead, he wore a faint air of casual ease.
He passed through the crowd, climbed the steps, and came to a steady halt behind the lectern.
The spotlight fell upon him, illuminating his bright, clear features.
Chen Fan raised his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping across the dense sea of people below before finally settling on Jiang Qingyuan at the edge of the dais.