Chapter 85: Assigning Dormitories

Upon seeing the Student Tokens, the three Clan Elders' doubts vanished instantly, yet they still found it hard to process, feeling as if they were in a dream.

Even in their dreams, they had never imagined that all four of the Li Clan Four Heroes would pass the Yuanling Academy examination; for a small clan like theirs, this was an absolutely monumental joyous event, and it would surely lead to greater prosperity in the future.

Just as they were rejoicing, a slim youth approached; he had an ordinary appearance, but possessed a pair of exceptionally spirited eyes and a clean-cut crew cut.

"Three Clan Elders, I've arrived late, what is everyone so happy about? Eh, Yuanling Academy Student Tokens, so that's it; I never expected that after three years, there would finally be more clansmen admitted to Yuanling Academy!" The youth expressed confusion at the expressions of the three Clan Elders, but upon seeing the Student Token in Li Jingyi's hand, he immediately wore an expression of sudden realization.

The youth was named Li Sheng; he had been admitted to Yuanling Academy three years ago and was now a fourth-year student, set to graduate in another year.

Li Zhangsheng had also heard of this person, Li Sheng, because he was the only Li clansman to have been admitted to Yuanling Academy in the last ten years.

Seeing that Li Sheng had arrived, Clan Elder Li Yi first introduced both parties, then told him the news that Li Zhangsheng and the other three had been admitted.

Upon learning this news, Li Sheng's mouth hung slightly open, revealing an expression of disbelief; after confirming it wasn't a joke, he felt genuinely happy for Li Zhangsheng and the others.

Wherever there are people, there are disputes, and Yuanling Academy was naturally no exception; everyone had different ideas, making it inevitable that differences in opinion would arise, leading to arguments or even intense duels.

This was also related to the Academy's reward mechanism; to stimulate the students' drive, Yuanling Academy would hold various activities every so often, using rich rewards to establish a competitive mechanism, which undoubtedly intensified the students' sense of competition and gave them an urgent desire to improve their strength—the intensity of this competition could well be imagined.

Over these past three years, lacking trustworthy companions and clansmen, Li Sheng had found every step difficult; now that four more clansmen had been admitted to Yuanling Academy, they would become trustworthy partners after a little polishing.

This time, Li Sheng's meeting with the three Clan Elders was primarily to collect the resources provided by the clan.

Every year, the clan would hand over a large amount of resources to students admitted to various academies, hoping they could grow faster.

Depending on the gap between academies, the clan would also have a bias; the better the academy, the more resources received annually, and vice versa.

Among them, Yuanling Academy was the top!

Li Zhangsheng and the other three were no exception, but this time the number of admitted students far exceeded the clan's expectations; the clan had originally thought that having two admitted would be a stroke of great luck. As it turned out, all four were admitted, which made things awkward because the clan had not anticipated this situation at all and naturally hadn't prepared that many resources.

Furthermore, adding four Yuanling Academy students meant a large expenditure just in annual resources, which would undoubtedly greatly increase the clan's burden.

Even so, the clan would not cut resources, but would instead tighten their belts to get by; after all, the clan was eager for more clansmen to become Yuanling Academy students, and once Li Zhangsheng and the others graduated, they would surely be able to enhance the clan's strength and prestige, bringing huge returns to the clan.

To make up for the missing resources, the three Clan Elders generously opened their own purses, taking out their own savings to barely scrape together the resources, and handed the bulging bags to Li Zhangsheng and the other three.

In front of the three Clan Elders, Li Zhangsheng and the four naturally did not open them, planning to wait until they found a place to stay.

Although they had been admitted to Yuanling Academy, the academy had not yet started; it would not officially open until three days later.

During these three days, Li Zhangsheng and the others could only stay at an inn.

Before this, Li Zhangsheng had met Li Jianren, who had participated in the examination for the Second Tier Lingxiu Academy and was successfully admitted by relying on his recently promoted Middle Rank Flame Wolf.

Although the two were not in the same academy, Lingxiu Academy and Yuanling Academy were not far apart, so the two could continue to cooperate.

Upon hearing that Li Zhangsheng had been admitted to Yuanling Academy with the best scores in all three categories, Li Jianren could not help but be shocked, becoming even more determined to cling to Li Zhangsheng's leg.

For the following three days, Li Zhangsheng spent his time in the inn's small courtyard.

Even though they had become Yuanling Academy students, this was no reason for them to slack off; every day they still repeated their daily training and accumulated knowledge, focusing on increasing their strength.

During this period, Li Sheng would also come over often to tell them about things at Yuanling Academy, such as rules, events, activities, competitions, and even interesting anecdotes, giving Li Zhangsheng and the others a bit more understanding of Yuanling Academy.

Three days later, it was the day for Li Zhangsheng and the four to move into Yuanling Academy; because there were too many freshmen reporting during the day, to save time, Li Zhangsheng and the others specifically waited until evening to set off for Yuanling Academy.

At the entrance of Yuanling Academy, Clan Elder Li Yi mounted his Thick-Backed Eagle and laughed: "It is time for us to return and report this good news to the clan; this old man cannot wait to see the expressions on those old fellows' faces—it will surely be very spectacular! Li Sheng, I leave them to you!"

After speaking, the Thick-Backed Eagle began to flap its wings, and soon turned into three tiny black dots, disappearing into the horizon.

After withdrawing his gaze, Li Sheng said while walking: "Alright, everyone follow me!"

Li Zhangsheng and the others followed Li Sheng, intending to familiarize themselves with the academy's environment before dark.

After walking a distance, Li Sheng pointed to a circular building and said: "This is the Administrative Building, and also the place where the academy's high-level officials work; unless you have their approval, students cannot enter!"

Soon, Li Sheng pointed to the adjacent building and said: "This is Tianlu Pavilion, which houses countless classics; it also has restrictions, mainly related to strength. If you are a First-rank Imperial Beast Master, you can only view classics on the first floor and cannot enter the second floor, and so on. Sometimes, knowing more is not necessarily a good thing!"

Li Zhangsheng expressed his understanding of such restrictions.

Li Sheng thought for a moment and continued: "Some places have similar restrictions, but as long as you become a Third-rank Monster Tamer, most places will open up their restrictions!"

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Li Sheng clapped his hands hard and said: "Right, our Yuanling Academy recruits over a thousand freshmen every year, including some Second-Rank Beast Masters. These people are all heaven-gifted prodigies; they either have prominent status, astonishing talent, or heaven-defying luck. It is best not to offend them if you can help it! If you accidentally offend them, you can come find me!"

A 16-year-old Second-Rank Beast Master could definitely be described as a heaven-gifted prodigy, but Li Zhangsheng did not think he was inferior to them; if given more time, he could also become a Second-Rank Beast Master.

For the next half hour or so, Li Sheng took the four of them on a large loop, mainly introducing some important buildings, such as the Teaching Building, Dormitory Building, Training Ground, Trading Place, and so on.

Although they spent over half an hour, because the academy was simply too large, they did not finish touring it; they only briefly introduced some important places, and there were still many areas they did not understand.

Looking at the fading light, Li Sheng smiled and said: "That's all I will introduce for today; if you have any questions you don't understand, you can come find me at any time. Now I will take you to the Reception!"

For freshmen moving in, the Reception handles the dormitory assignments.

"Sorry to trouble you, Clan Brother!" Since they were all of the same clan, to show closeness, Li Zhangsheng and the four naturally addressed him as Clan Brother.

After getting along for these few days, they also gained a bit more understanding of Li Sheng; Li Sheng was a Second-Rank Beast Master, but he was not far from the Third Rank.

Even in Yuanling Academy, a Third-rank Monster Tamer could fully be called an Elite Student.

Under Li Sheng's guidance, they arrived at the Freshman Reception.

Even though night was about to fall, there were still many freshmen surrounding the Reception; several staff members were busy helping freshmen register and then handing them their dormitory keys.

While waiting, it soon became Li Zhangsheng's turn.

As soon as he took the Student Token, the staff member first glanced at it subconsciously, but when he saw Li Zhangsheng's examination scores, his eyes could not move away.

After reacting, the staff member began to register, then handed a tray to Li Zhangsheng and said: "These are your clothes and dormitory key!"

As Li Zhangsheng took the tray, Li Sheng, who was standing to the side, looked at it subconsciously, and upon seeing the number engraved on the key, he was visibly stunned.

(End of Chapter)