CSMCDB - Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Wen Yuncheng still went to Star Academy.
She gazed at the main gate of Star Academy, her eyes fixed on the tall crystal pillars flanking it. The four words “Star Academy,” carved in a flamboyant, calligraphic style, captivated her.
1947, did they just... put an entire, magnificent fire crystal right at the entrance? This thing is three or four meters tall and as wide as a person! How many Star Stones would a single piece chipped off of this be worth?! And fire crystals are incredibly hard, yet they carved words directly onto it... A prestigious academy is really on another level.
[You can touch it, and you can look at it. But if you try to damage it even a little, like knocking off a piece to sell, the countermeasures laid on it will activate,] 1947 reminded her expressionlessly. [You'll turn into a firework.]
Wen Yuncheng was speechless for a moment. She quickly pulled back the right hand that had been touching the fire crystal and took two steps back.
If she accidentally released the steel blade from her mechanical armguard and sliced off a small piece, wouldn't she be sent flying to the heavens?
Her heart still pounding with fear, Wen Yuncheng looked around. She approached an old man who was sunbathing with his eyes closed at the main gate. “Excuse me, Grandpa, I'd like to study at your Star Academy. Is there a registration form or some kind of test?”
[He's just a gate guard. What would he know? Host, I suggest you go provoke the students of Star Academy outside the gate and pick a fight with them!]
Wen Yuncheng: ? Am I crazy?
System, I hope you have an accurate understanding of the golden finger you gave me. It's not strong enough for me, at level 6, to challenge some big shot who's over level 10.
Wen Yuncheng looked at the old man with great anticipation. After all, in some novels, unassuming old men like him were always hidden masters, like the sweeping monk trope. What if he was the academy's headmaster?
[The headmaster is a woman. And she's not old.]
Then what if he's an elder? Wen Yuncheng ignored 1947's attempt to pour cold water on her enthusiasm, staring intently at the old man, her eyes shining.
As Lin Jinyu entered the academy with her mentor, this was the scene that greeted her.
She recognized Wen Yuncheng. After all, his attitude when she came to his home to break off their engagement... had been exceptionally unusual.
“What is it?” Noticing her disciple's distraction, Qiu Fei also stopped. She followed her gaze, and with her level of Star Power, it was easy to overhear their conversation. A second-layer Star Apostle? He actually wants to study at Star Academy... Besides, what's the use of asking a gate guard about enrollment?
“That's Wen Yuncheng,” Lin Jinyu said faintly. “He only started cultivating again this year.”
“Your good-for-nothing former fiancé?” Qiu Fei raised an eyebrow slightly. Only started cultivating this year? In that case, reaching the second layer of Star Apostle wasn't bad. She glanced down at her quiet disciple. “You want to help him?”
“When I went to break off the engagement, although I had my reasons, it was ultimately a slap in the face to the Wen Family,” Lin Jinyu said faintly. “Unlike his family members, he agreed readily. I owe him one.”
“How is that a debt?” Qiu Fei scoffed, but still said, “But since you've said so, what's the harm in letting him enroll? With his cultivation level, though, he won't have an easy time even if he gets into Star Academy.” Family background, wealth, status, cultivation-he had none of them.
“I only owe him this once.” The implication was that Lin Jinyu wouldn't concern herself with what happened to him afterward.
Qiu Fei laughed. “Fine. Since I'm helping you, you'd better make a huge splash in the placement battles. It'd be best if you beat those guys' precious disciples until they're crying on the floor.”
“I will do my best.”
Wen Yuncheng was unaware of Lin Jinyu and Qiu Fei's conversation. She was still pestering the gate guard, convinced that the old man had to be some kind of reclusive master.
[Can you stop embarrassing yourself? Just do as I say-go provoke someone, challenge them to a duel!]
Wen Yuncheng: You just want me to die.
The old man, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. He fumbled around and took out a blue stone from his robes. As he infused it with Star Power, the stone turned transparent. At the same time, a voice came from within the stone: “Is there a kid at the academy gate?”
The old man glanced at Wen Yuncheng. “There is one.”
Wen Yuncheng looked behind her. Where was the kid?
“Tell him to get his ass in here and find me.” The voice sounded very irritated. “Give him my office location. I'll take him as a disciple.”
“Alright.” The old man agreed, and the stone reverted from translucent blue back to a solid blue. He looked at Wen Yuncheng. “Go inside and find Teacher Yan Ling. She has accepted you as her disciple. You can study at Star Academy from now on.”
Wen Yuncheng: How could something so good happen?
Even 1947 was dumbfounded. It scanned the old man's information three or four times but found nothing out of the ordinary. He was just a regular gate guard!
Once Wen Yuncheng processed what had happened, she felt a little uneasy. Who was this Yan Ling? Could she really be after her looks? She had only been joking about that; she had no real intention of sacrificing her body... Wen Yuncheng walked into the academy, following the old man's directions. She was to walk straight ahead until she saw a building with a golden nameplate, then go inside and up to the third floor.
As soon as she entered the academy grounds, Wen Yuncheng understood why the old man had mentioned a golden nameplate.
In front of every building stood a pillar, some made of gold, others of various crystals, but all of them were as tall as a person.
At that moment, in Wen Yuncheng's mind, Star Academy became synonymous with “nouveau riche academy.”
Gaudy or not, flashy or not, this was all real Star Stones...
The third floor...
Wen Yuncheng climbed the stairs step by step, looking around curiously. Her eyes met those of a woman standing at the top of the third-floor landing.
The woman wore a suit of purple-black leather armor with a silver dagger tucked at her waist. A ruby on the dagger's hilt immediately caught Wen Yuncheng's eye.
...No, wait, that armor seems pretty luxurious too. Wen Yuncheng thought, pulling her gaze away to avoid any misunderstanding. But before she could continue up the stairs, the woman had already sized her up from head to toe.
“You look rather effeminate. And you're only a second-layer Star Apostle?” Yan Ling looked at Wen Yuncheng's thin arms and legs. Even if he got into Star Academy, wouldn't he be bullied to death by his classmates once school started? But she was just fulfilling a lost bet. Qiu Fei had suggested she take on an in-name-only disciple, so it didn't matter.
...Anyway, she had no intention of actually teaching a disciple. The number of disciples under her name was zero.
Wen Yuncheng was taken aback by the question and had just nodded when the world blurred before her eyes. In an instant, the woman was beside her, grabbing and squeezing her palm before tossing it away.
“Fifteen years old?” Yan Ling had initially thought that if she was taking a disciple, she might as well teach him if he had decent talent. But this kid... his body hadn't even been strengthened by Star Power? Even if he couldn't cultivate, hadn't he done any basic physical training? “Forget it, come with me. Star Academy's annual tuition is ten thousand Star Stones. You have the money, right?”
“I do!” Wen Yuncheng quickly replied. She could tell that Yan Ling had lost all interest in her in that single moment, and though she didn't know why, she felt a little anxious. Hearing Yan Ling's words, she finally relaxed: as long as she could enroll, that was all that mattered.
“Fine. Don't use my name to cause trouble in the academy. If you get beaten up or bullied, don't come crying to me. I won't stand up for you.” Yan Ling led Wen Yuncheng toward her office. She felt that little boys this age were all hot-blooded idiots. Wen Yuncheng's strength was pathetic. If he came complaining to her every other day, how would she ever find time to cultivate?
“I understand. As long as I can enroll, that's enough. I won't cause you any trouble,” Wen Yuncheng said hurriedly. Getting in so easily was already an unexpected joy. Having a powerful backer to latch onto would be a bonus-but it was fine if she didn't.
“Mm,” Yan Ling responded perfunctorily. She rummaged through her drawer but couldn't find the registration scroll the headmaster had given her. Her head starting to ache, she began searching her bookshelf. Tutors at Star Academy all had a fixed quota of disciples and were given registration scrolls by the headmaster. The disciple would sign and add a drop of blood, then the tutor would do the same, and the headmaster's office would receive the confirmation. It was very convenient.
The thing was, she had never taken a disciple before and had no idea where she'd put the scroll.
Yan Ling's expression grew darker. She sat down on the sofa, pulled a bottle of wine from her storage ring, twisted the cap off with her bare hands, and took a drink. Then, she began searching through her storage ring, storage pouch, and other storage artifacts with part of her attention.
But Wen Yuncheng had no idea what Yan Ling was doing. She watched as her new, hands-off mentor, who had been searching for something, suddenly sat down and started drinking. Her mind was filled with question marks. “1947, what's wrong with her?”
[She's looking for something,] 1947 replied, then guessed, [Probably the thing for your enrollment.]
“Fill in your name, age, and cultivation level. Put a drop of blood below your name.” Yan Ling tossed the scroll to Wen Yuncheng. “The pen is on my desk.”
Wen Yuncheng carefully filled out the scroll. When it came time for the blood drop, she hesitated for a moment, then extended a steel spike from her mechanical armguard, pricked her fingertip, and smeared the blood onto the scroll.
Yan Ling raised an eyebrow at the mechanical armguard on Wen Yuncheng's wrist but didn't ask any questions. She simply tossed over a blue stone, the same kind Wen Yuncheng had seen in the gate guard's hand. “Infuse it with Star Power and call my name to contact me. But unless you're dying, don't bother me.”
“O-Okay.” Wen Yuncheng took the stone, feeling it was just like one of those old cell phones that could only make calls.
“Transfer the ten thousand Star Stones.” Yan Ling took out her Star Stone card and gestured for Wen Yuncheng to pay.
Wen Yuncheng obediently transferred ten thousand of her Star Stones. Her little treasury shrank rapidly. She glanced at the blue stone in her hand and asked hesitantly, “How many Star Stones for this stone?”
“It's a gift.” Yan Ling waved her hand dismissively. “Go on, come back here at ten tomorrow to complete the official enrollment procedures. We'll arrange your dorm and class.”
“Okay!” Wen Yuncheng obediently left the office. She felt like she was floating as she walked. She never expected to get enrolled just like that.
“1947, where's my reward?”
[It will be issued after your official enrollment.] 1947 was a meticulous system.
Wen Yuncheng looked at her Star Stone card, which now had a balance of only eighteen thousand, and sighed. She would have to spend another hundred Star Stones on an inn for the night.
The next day's procedures went very smoothly. With Yan Ling's help, Wen Yuncheng paid extra for a small single room in the men's dormitory-the kind with just one bedroom and one bathroom-for five thousand Star Stones a semester. As for her class, she was assigned to Class 1-G.
The 1 represented the school year, and G was the ranking.
Author's Notes
Regarding the academy's setting:
Students attend for an average of four academic years. Each year has seven classes, from A to G, sorted by cultivation level.
There is also a separate S-Class, which has no year prefix. It is a class for the academy's top geniuses, and being a member is an honor even after graduation.
If a student fails to meet the graduation standard after four years, they are placed in a special Z-Class. Students in Z-Class are not bound by the academy's usual restrictions (like attending classes, practice sessions, etc.).
There shouldn't be any plot holes, right...
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