Chapter 29 (continued)

For a Star Wielder, Star Skills were undoubtedly the highlight of highlights, and the Star Magic Department studied them more deeply than any other department. Yet they had actually promised to let Li Yang gain insight into a rare Star Skill...

Heavens, what kind of divine treatment was this?!

Not to be outdone, the Star Combat Department immediately spoke up. "The Star Magic Department only knows how to peddle flashy nonsense. What do you need so many Star Skills for? It's a waste of energy! Our Star Combat Department's Star Skills form a complete system, perfectly suited to every cultivation realm. Not only will they never hold back your progress, they'll also help you grow more steadily and build a more solid foundation!"

"Come to the Star Combat Department!" The Star Combat teaching assistant's words came with a naturally passionate air that easily swept others up. She continued, brimming with fervor, "Everyone in our department can learn the most mature and stable Star Skill system. We also have senior students to lead teams on missions. As for those so-called resources, just go on a trip to a three-star or four-star quarantine zone with your seniors, and you can easily bring back a whole pile! What are resources worth? The experience you gain in actual combat is the most valuable thing!"

The Spirit Department's teaching assistant spoke up too. "Li Yang, have you measured your Spirit Points? If your initial Spirit Points were 90, you're a born Spirit Department Star Wielder. You might not know this, but First and Second Grade Star Wielders don't have high Spirit Points requirements. If you want to advance to Third Grade, though, you have to raise your Spirit Points!"

"Why are so many Star Wielders stuck at the peak of Second Grade? Because their Spirit Points can't keep up."

"And the higher your realm, the more obvious this becomes. If you cultivate your Spirit properly early on, you'll reap enormous benefits later.

"Let me give you another real statistic. Of all the known Seventh Grade Grandmasters, sixty percent majored in Spirit."

At that, the Star Combat and Star Magic representatives both pursed their lips. But they couldn't refute her, so they could only grumble under their breath, "Don't you Spirit Department people have any idea how hard it is to graduate?!"

Li Yang had never expected that even after she said she was going to the Agronomy Department, she still couldn't stop these three major departments from playing the melon seller who praises her own melons.

Fortunately, what they offered wasn't as practical as what the noncombat departments offered, so it wasn't as tempting to Li Yang.

Of course, to ordinary students, all of it was far too tempting. It was also why everyone fought tooth and nail to enroll in the three major combat departments.

The Star Magic Department had Star Skills that were both numerous and refined, the Star Combat Department offered excellent benefits on team missions, and the Spirit Department built up a deep foundation before bursting forth, with a limitless future ahead...

In short, all three major departments were tempting.

Nine out of ten students would beg their grandfathers and plead with their grandmothers to get into the three major departments. Li Yang was begging her grandfathers and pleading with her grandmothers not to go.

None of that mattered to Li Yang, especially Spirit cultivation. That mattered the least of all. As long as the Agronomy Department kept her supplied with wheat, it was no problem.

Li Yang repeated herself. "Sorry, teachers, and thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I've already chosen the department I want."

Everyone: "..."

The young man spoke up again. "You're really going to the Agronomy Department? You're not joking?"

"I'm not joking," Li Yang said. "I'm serious."

The cat-eared teaching assistant from the Beast Taming Department had long since given up trying. She watched the show from the sidelines with a smile. "This feels great. Even the three major combat departments have a day like this."

The teaching assistants from the Weapon Forging and Pill Departments also cleared their throats.

The Star Support Department had been rather unhappy, but after hearing the cat-eared assistant, she felt better.

That was right.

If Li Yang had only rejected them, they would have been unhappy. But Li Yang treated everyone equally and rejected the three major combat departments too... So there was nothing to be unhappy about. They even felt a little secret satisfaction!

Even the three major combat departments had a day like this.

Wonderful!

The three major combat departments' teaching assistants: "..."

They had their dignity too!

Li Yang was indeed outstanding, but not so much that they would invite her again and again.

Since her mind was made up, then... the Star Magic Department's teaching assistant rushed toward Ning Shaoyu. The Spirit Department's assistant moved quickly too. Although the Star Combat Department's assistant was a beat slower, her physical abilities were so strong that she was actually the first to reach Ning Shaoyu.

Li Yang breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally all left.

The Star Support Department's teaching assistant refused to give up. She sidled over again and asked quietly, "Student Li, won't you really consider our united, caring, and mutually supportive Star Support Department?"

Li Yang smiled wryly. "Teacher, I really wasn't joking. I've chosen the Agronomy Department, and I absolutely won't change my mind."

The Star Support assistant sighed softly and said reluctantly, "It's all right. Nothing's settled until the very last moment. I'll wait for you to change your mind."

Li Yang: "..." She quite liked the Star Support Department's teaching assistant. She was exceptionally pretty and pleasant to listen to, and the first thing she had offered was to cover all expenses until graduation. It was hard not to like her.

The Star Support assistant said sweetly, "Li Yang, I'll be waiting for you."

"I really will be waiting for you."

Yu Hongyuan's mouth twitched. "Teacher..."

The Star Support assistant glanced sideways at Yu Hongyuan. "No."

Yu Hongyuan: "???"

He said furiously, "I'm not trying to join the Star Support Department! I was going to say that Li Yang has made up her mind. Your tricks won't work on her!"

The Star Support assistant simply assumed he was angry from embarrassment and paid him no mind. She drifted gracefully toward her next target.

The crowd finally dispersed, and the

delicacies

Li Yang had been looking forward to for so long began arriving one after another.

Sun Square was extremely noisy.

In truth, few people were concentrating on eating. Most were trying every possible way to show their talents to the admissions teachers so they could be chosen early and avoid being assigned to some terrifying department.

Li Yang grabbed a plate the size of a washbasin and declared solemnly, "I'm digging in."

She rushed to the nearest long table. Its end was nowhere in sight, but then, it had to provide food for so many people; it couldn't very well be short.

Starting at the front, Li Yang took one glance and felt dazzled. "Oh my heavens, oh my heavens!" she exclaimed softly.

There were dozens of appetizers alone, laid out in a dazzling array on the white tablecloth, enough to make anyone's mouth water.

The starters stretched for more than ten meters, while the main courses occupied the middle of the long table. After them came all kinds of exquisite desserts and after-dinner refreshments, as well as an assortment of drinks Li Yang had never even seen before.

Li Yang quickly filled a plate. Yu Hongyuan followed behind her and asked, "Can... can you finish all that?" That enormous plateful... No, it should be called an enormous basinful.

"Of course I can," Li Yang said. What a joke. With a meal budget of ten thousand yuan per person, she would eat at least three basins... Ahem, three plates!

Yu Hongyuan helped himself to some food as well, muttering, "Could the first essential of cultivation be... eating?"

Come to think of it, yes.

Li Yang had already opened three Star Apertures, and by the look of her, she had at least 200-plus Physique Points. It made sense for her to eat more.

After sitting down, Li Yang first tried a bite of the pastry-wrapped steak, which looked crisp on the outside and tender within. The outer pastry burst between her lips and teeth, followed closely by the tender, savory steak. That one bite not only had perfect color, aroma, and flavor, but also sent a rich flow of Starlight into her body.

Li Yang: "!"

Sure enough, a buffet costing ten thousand yuan per meal was also made with Starlight ingredients.

That pastry might well have been made from mutated wheat.

And this steak... Huh, was it from a mutated moo-cow?

It was so delicious that she was starting to feel fond of mutated creatures.

Li Yang devoted herself wholeheartedly to the embrace of delicious food, casting the business of choosing departments and being chosen by them to the back of her mind.

Delicious!

So delicious!

Not only did she satisfy her appetite, she also ate her fill of Starlight, which slowly nourished her opened Star Apertures.

Meanwhile, Ning Shaoyu chose the Star Magic Department.

The Spirit Department didn't mind. Ning Shaoyu's Spirit Points were only average, apparently around seventy or eighty. Unlike Li Yang's, they hadn't reached a value that was hard to distinguish by eye.

The Star Combat Department, however, was upset. Zhong Ruirui's task today had been to win over two undecided students, but in the end... one had rejected her, and so had the other.

Zhong Ruirui lost interest in the other freshmen too and squatted in a corner, sulking.

Zhong Kun happened to see her and walked over. "Sister Rui, you're in charge of admissions this year?"

Zhong Ruirui was also a member of the Zhong Family, but the family's branches were lush and spreading. She and Zhong Kun shared a great-grandfather and were far less close than Zhong Kun and Zhong Qian.

"Yeah," Zhong Ruirui said. "It wasn't easy to snag this assignment. It's an easy ten merit points."

Although Zhong Ruirui was a teaching assistant, merit points were still the common currency among Star Wielders. Even outside Zhongdu Military Academy, they were useful in the army.

Zhong Kun asked curiously, "Then did you meet Li Yang?"

It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned her, but the moment he did, Zhong Ruirui's belly filled with anger. "You mean the top scorer in Donghua Province? Don't even mention her. She nearly drove me to death!"

"Why?" Zhong Kun thought Li Yang was quite nice, apart from being a tiny bit greedy for money.

Zhong Ruirui poured out her grievances. "You know that of the freshmen enrolled at Zhongdu this year, only Li Yang and Ning Shaoyu didn't come from Star Wielder backgrounds. Li Yang in particular had even better results than Ning Shaoyu. All seven major departments extended an olive branch to her, and guess what happened?"

"What happened?" The question came not from Zhong Kun, but from his older cousin, Zhong Qian.

Zhong Qian had come over at some point. "Did she choose the Star Magic Department or the Spirit Department?"

Zhong Ruirui was so disappointed that Li Yang definitely hadn't chosen the Star Combat Department, leaving only Star Magic and Spirit.

Zhong Ruirui shook her head.

Zhong Kun said in surprise, "Huh? Don't tell me she went to the Pill Department. She could minor in that! With her talent, Second Grade wouldn't be hard..."

Zhong Ruirui kept shaking her head.

Zhong Qian frowned. "She actually chose the Weapon Forging Department?"

Zhong Ruirui kept shaking her head.

The Zhong brothers fell silent. Zhong Kun's mouth twitched as he thought of the Beast Taming Department. He couldn't help saying, "Is she abandoning her humanity altogether?!"

Having thoroughly whetted their curiosity, Zhong Ruirui finally put them out of their suspense with satisfaction. "Not the Beast Taming Department either. She said she wanted to go to the Agronomy Department!"

The Zhong brothers: "???"

Seeing the two of them so dumbfounded, especially Zhong Qian, a direct descendant personally trained and highly valued by the Zhong Family, whose aloof expression had turned blank, Zhong Ruirui felt a sudden, inexplicable thrill of satisfaction.