Page 45

After another night of good dreams, the opening ceremony arrived the next day.

Early that morning, Li Yang woke to a string of messages from Yu Hongyuan. She put them on speaker and listened while she washed up.

"I've searched the whole forum. I guarantee we won't take any wrong turns at the opening ceremony!"

Li Yang had done a little research herself, but it certainly wasn't as thorough as Yu Hongyuan's paid research.

With free information delivered to her doorstep, she might as well listen.

"First, put on your uniform. Um... the one in the freshman gift package. Then gather at Sun Square. Just search for it in the navigation app. It's the biggest square at Zhongdu Military Academy. I hear even prewar mobilizations are held there... Ahem, I'm getting sidetracked..."

"When you get to Sun Square, show your student card to get in. Then come the speeches. First, the vice principal speaks on the principal's behalf—the principal's in the Astral Realm and can't make it back-then the deans of the seven major departments... Ahem, I know there's also the Agronomy Department, but I checked the videos from the past ten years. I can say for sure that its dean has never attended the opening ceremony or given a speech, so the eight major departments gradually became seven..."

"The deans' speeches are really just introductions to each department's specialties, with some simple advice for freshmen choosing a department... Actually, it's all nonsense. The freshmen already know all of it, especially when it comes to the three major combat departments... They say the freshmen choose their departments, but really, the departments are picking the freshmen!"

"After the speeches comes the opening banquet. There'll be all kinds of delicious food in Sun Square, on the same level as the buffet in the main cafeteria that costs one merit point a head. Everyone can help themselves..."

At that, Li Yang perked up and murmured, "Worth it, worth it." She wanted a proper taste of what a ten-thousand-yuan buffet was like.

"The opening banquet is the main event! No upperclassmen are allowed in, only freshmen and the recruitment teachers from each department. The teachers will approach the students they like and try to recruit them into their departments..."

"Of course, that has nothing to do with me, but it definitely concerns you..."

"But you already have a department in mind, so if you don't want to be hounded, you can leave early."

Li Yang: "..." Leave early, my foot! At ten thousand yuan a meal, she had to eat her money's worth!

After washing up, Li Yang sent Yu Hongyuan a reply: "Thanks."

In the boys' dormitory, Yu Hongyuan clenched his fist when he received the message. "Yes!" Today's underling task-accomplished!

Yu Hongyuan had never been an underling, but back at Huangcheng No. 1 High School, he had led plenty of them.

Now that he was doing the job himself, he had it well in hand and handled it with ease.

Li Yang arrived at Sun Square just in time.

She wanted to blend into the crowd and avoid standing out too much.

Although Hidden Shadow had concealed her fourth Star Aperture, powerful figures would be gathering at the ceremony. There was no guarantee there wouldn't be seventh- or eighth-grade experts among them.

If she blended into the crowd, especially walking close enough to overlap with others, her Star Apertures wouldn't be as easy to distinguish.

Of course, that was mostly Li Yang reassuring herself. If someone did see through her, there was nothing she could do.

Four Star Apertures should be all right, probably...

Li Yang observed the others along the way, hoping to see what realms they had reached.

At least half the freshmen had yet to draw stars into their bodies, and among those who had succeeded, most had opened only one or two Star Apertures.

Whenever a freshman with three open Star Apertures appeared, they were surrounded by a crowd. They were probably direct descendants of Star Wielder families.

Li Yang looked the whole way there without seeing a single freshman with four open Star Apertures.

"No way..." Li Yang reassured herself. "There must be some, but there are too many people. They're not that easy to run into."

She didn't regret opening four Star Apertures, though.

Without opening Star Apertures, she couldn't raise her maximum lifespan. Asking her to throw away the centuries of life she had gained was worse than asking for her life. Oh... it was asking for her "life."

"This year really is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers! That Lin Family member has opened her fourth Star Aperture!"

Li Yang's ears perked up. She thought of someone. "Has Lin Zhaoqin opened her fourth Star Aperture? That's amazing!"

"Holy shit, she's already at grade one high stage? Lin Zhaoxia is incredible!"

At that name, Li Yang realized she had gotten it wrong. It wasn't Lin Zhaoqin, but judging by the name, they were probably family.

The Lin Family was a major family in Central Capital, with two ninth-grade Grandmasters holding the fort. That was rare even across all of Huaxia.

"What about Shen Shangchi? Has he opened his fourth Star Aperture?"

Li Yang was unfamiliar with the name, but she had learned a little about Star Wielder families. She knew the Shen Family was a major clan, and this man was probably a direct descendant trained by the family.

"Not yet. He's only opened three Star Apertures, but his Physique Points have already reached 290."

"Then he'll be able to open his fourth Star Aperture soon!"

"Zhong Qian from Donghua Province is pretty impressive too. His Physique Points have reached 280!"

Li Yang heard another familiar name and nodded silently to herself. Impressive, Zhong Kun's big brother.

She admired these people from the bottom of her heart.

The resources of the great families were certainly good, but they still had to work hard themselves. To open three or four Star Apertures in a few months, they truly were Heavenly Chosen among Heavenly Chosen.

After all, Li Yang... had poured one or two hundred years into it.

Just then, the students chatting nearby said the same thing. "Comparing yourself to others is pointless!"

Li Yang felt the same and nodded along.

Those students hadn't managed to draw stars into their bodies, so they couldn't see Li Yang's Star Apertures. Seeing how she was dressed, with none of the bearing of someone from a great family, they took her for an ordinary student too.

"Hey, which province are you from?"

"Donghua Province."

"Oh, wow, your province is a hot topic! A dark horse came out of nowhere, crushed Zhong Qian, and took first place in the province."

Li Yang: "..."

The person asked her, "What was her name again? I think her surname was Li? Or maybe Li as in pear..."

Li Yang smiled awkwardly, stopped chatting with them, and made her way through the crowd to find somewhere else to stand.

The freshmen had gathered together and were all gossiping.

A few names came up most often. They were also the standouts among this year's freshmen.

Lin Zhaoxia of Central Capital's Lin Family had a Limit Physique, and she was currently at grade one high stage.

Shen Shangchi of Central Capital's Shen Family also had a Limit Physique value. He was currently at first grade middle stage and would soon enter the high stage.

Then there were Zhong Qian of Donghua Province, Ying Qi of North Tenth Province, Sun Mairan of South First Province... They had all opened three Star Apertures as well.

Li Yang roughly summed it up: Lin Zhaoxia of the Lin Family might be the only one who had opened four Star Apertures, while there were quite a few with three. Basically, every province had one or two.

There was another name that was well known. He came from an ordinary family in Xihua Province, had a Limit Physique, and had entered Zhongdu Military Academy as the province's second-place finisher.

His name was Ning Shaoyu, and he had already opened two Star Apertures.

Whenever someone mentioned Ning Shaoyu, someone else would bring up Li Yang. Both came from common backgrounds and had Limit Physiques. With one in the east and the other in the west, they were easily compared.

Because Li Yang had arrived just in time, she had only listened to gossip for a little while before the whole square fell silent.

Sun Square was enormous, and all of this year's freshmen had gathered there.

Everyone stood in orderly formation on the square, waiting for the vice principal's speech.

The vice principal was a middle-aged woman. She wasn't tall, but she stood straight and looked only thirty or forty. Yet anyone who had read the school's history knew... she was already over a hundred years old.

The vice principal's speech was brief and powerful, and deeply moving.

At first, Li Yang hadn't paid it much mind, but as she listened, she found herself drawn in, until the vice principal said, "With that, welcome to Central Capital First Military Academy. In the days ahead, I hope we can live together harmoniously and make progress together!"

Thunderous applause rang out across the square. Everyone genuinely liked the approachable vice principal.

The Spirit Department...? Li Yang had sensed it faintly. Though it was very weak, her intuition told her that the vice principal had majored in the Spirit Department.

Next, the deans took the stage to give their speeches.

The dean of the Star Combat Department was a tall, striking woman. She wore a suit of streamlined light armor, and simply standing there, she gave off an intense pressure. Her speech was forceful and resonant, carrying the killing intent and fighting spirit of someone who had fought on the battlefield.

Finally, she said, "Those who enter the Star Combat Department must put courage first!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Li Yang's blood was boiling too, and she couldn't help thinking that the Star Combat Department was pretty good. She wondered whether she could take it as a minor.

The dean of the Star Magic Department was an elegant, beautiful woman. She wore a snow-white robe and stood with her hands behind her back, faint starlight flickering around her. A staff set with an unknown gemstone floated beside him.

"Those who enter the Star Magic Department must put wisdom first."

Just that one speech carried a faint whiff of gunpowder.

The Star Combat Department and the Star Magic Department had never gotten along, and their rivalry started with their deans.

Next came the dean of the Spirit Department, a man who also looked very young and handsome, but whose eyes held the weariness of countless years.

His voice was beautiful. Every word seemed to land on the tip of one's heart, leaving people feeling as if they were bathed in a spring breeze, eager to report to the Spirit Department right then and there.

"Those who enter the Spirit Department must put benevolence first."

Next came the Star Support Department, the Pill Department, the Weapon Forging Department, and the Beast Taming Department...

Each dean had a distinctive character. The ones who left the deepest impression on Li Yang were the deans of the Pill Department and the Weapon Forging Department. Both completely overturned everyone's expectations.

The dean of the Pill Department was a muscular giant of a man, the sort who could smash a head with one punch.

The dean of the Weapon Forging Department, on the other hand, was a delicate, graceful woman, like a willow swaying in the wind. Yet with just a gentle movement of one finger, she lifted an iron hammer that weighed at least half a ton.

The dean of the Beast Taming Department shocked everyone. She... or should it be "it"? Yes, at least in the students' eyes-it was not human!

The Beast Taming Department dean had the head of a beautiful woman, but her limbs ended in eagle talons. Even more horrifyingly, she had a fox's tail...

"Those who enter the Beast Taming Department must put beasts first."