novelraw Chapter 75 : Personal Disciple
Chapter 75 : Personal Disciple
75: Direct Disciple
The next two days happened to be the weekend. Second-year students and above were not officially returning to campus until Monday, and many new students chose to stay at the academy to familiarize themselves with the place. After all, the Lingdu Source Martial Academy was huge.
Little Yuan said she was going to visit her uncle’s place in Lingdu, leaving Yuyin alone in the dorm.
Yuyin didn’t return to her apartment in the city but stayed at the school to preview the various courses and materials for the Swordsman Department.
"Monday morning, 6:30 sharp, report to the Sword Study Hall at the foot of East Yushan Mountain. That’s so early… It’s probably best not to be late for that female teacher’s class." Yuyin couldn’t help but recall Chen Qian'ning’s skilled posture as she waved her teaching stick, and wondered why she was so proficient with it.
Not yet clear on the specifics of the Swordsman Department, Yuyin made some general preparations and then entered the God-Devouring Chess space.
At this point, thanks to the water competition on the first day of school, Yuyin had gained over seventy Soul Charm Points. She could go on another shopping spree for chess pieces. She now had quite a few three-star pieces, but high-grade three-star pieces were still scarce. By high-grade, she meant blue and above.
The currently known piece grades were: White, Green, Blue, and Purple.
Right now, Yuyin’s total Soul Value for her pieces was over 300, but she was still far from the 360 recommended effective combat power needed to unlock the second layer, so there was no rush to open the second layer of the chessboard world.
On Sunday afternoon, Little Yuan returned. She had also chosen her department.
Although Little Yuan really wanted to be with Yuyin, she had never practiced with a sword and had no choice but to choose the Daoist Arts Department, which she was good at.
That evening, all new students received their department assignments. Most people’s wishes were respected, but some who were deemed unsuitable were assigned to other departments.
For example, Hu Yidun, who clearly had the build of a Strongman, had also applied for the Swordsman Department. Perhaps he guessed Yuyin would apply for the Swordsman Department from her performance in the water competition, but he was directly transferred to the Strongman Department by Chen Qian'ning.
As for Little Yuan, her application for the Daoist Arts Department was, of course, approved.
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On Monday, Yuyin and Little Yuan got up, walked along the lake together for a stretch, and then parted ways to head to their respective department buildings.
The main hall of the Swordsman Department was a dignified venue that combined postmodern style with elements of the ancient culture of the Huaxia river basins, possessing a strong sense of design and history.
At this moment, the main hall of the Swordsman Hall, with its wooden floors and a ceiling height of over ten meters, was not only filled with new students but also second and third-year students, who had all gathered. After all, no one wanted to be late on the first day of Chen Qian'ning’s class.
Since it wasn’t yet time for the assembly, the groups of students gathering in the hall were chatting, with many upperclassmen greeting each other.
"Hey, have you heard? Her Majesty is going to accept a new Direct Disciple this semester."
A handsome second-year male student in a flowing white shirt said.
"Really?" A slightly chubby student’s eyes lit up.
"Seriously? What were you doing over the summer? Just watching porn and not even checking the group chats?" The handsome student gave him a shove. "Her Majesty’s last Direct Disciple graduated last semester!"
"Whoa!" The chubby student trembled all over. "Could this be my chance?"
"Tch! You?" A short-haired girl with glasses next to him shook her head helplessly. "It’d be a miracle if you don’t get kicked out of the department."
"Her Majesty?" Yuyin, who had come to the hall alone and was relatively new, heard this being discussed in more than one place by the upperclassmen. "Direct Disciple?"
From their conversation, Yuyin deduced that "Her Majesty" must refer to Chen Qian'ning.
Chen Qian'ning, the Head of Student Affairs and concurrently the Head of the Swordsman Department. With the Dean often away, Chen Qian'ning was a figure of real power in the academy, both in terms of strength and authority. She wanted to accept a Direct Disciple?
Yuyin wondered what the difference was between a Direct Disciple and a regular Swordsman Department student.
"Hey, look… who is that?"
"Whoa… the Soaked Goddess!"
"Who?"
"Tch, her… The photos and videos from the water battle over the weekend were all over the group chats. The Soaked Goddess, Xia Yuyin. The genius who dominated the entire first year with a score of 97. Our Lingdu Source Martial Academy’s new campus belle!"
Around Yuyin, many of the upperclassmen who noticed her arrival began to shift the topic to her.
"97 points? No way she’s not cheating, right?"
"Even Senior Lan Lingfeng wasn’t that exaggerated back in the day, was he?"
"Shut up. Senior Lan is the embodiment of a gentleman’s modesty. You’re not allowed to compare him to just anyone!" a quiet girl with glasses said excitedly.
"That’s not what we meant, but… I heard at the opening ceremony, Dean Tong even mentioned this Xia Yuyin in the same breath as Senior Lan? And said they’d have a lot in common." a brown-haired boy said.
"Senior Lan, with a woman like that? Hmph!" The quiet girl was very scornful. A talented man and a beautiful woman, both geniuses, a handsome couple, is that it? She absolutely could not accept Senior Lan taking a liking to another woman!
At this moment, a group of second-year boys was surrounding a particularly tall, well-built but proportionate male student. He wore narrow, black-rimmed glasses, had a neat, side-parted hairstyle, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and was handsome and mature-looking.
"Brother Shenwu, what do you think of these new female students?" A wiry, thin boy with an earring said, deliberately glancing toward Yuyin and the other first-year girls.
"Hehe… I’m not sure about the others, but as for her, I think I should go say hello." Shenwu laughed heartily.
"Wow, as expected of Brother Shenwu, making a move right away?"
"Brother Shenwu is mighty!"
The boys egged him on, creating a commotion. Yuyin happened to glance over inadvertently, and the crowd grew even more excited.
Shenwu, however, remained calm. You could see his well-developed pectoral muscles even through his white shirt. He walked with steady, graceful steps and stopped in front of Yuyin.
"Xia Yuyin, junior? On behalf of the Swordsman Department, I welcome you."
As he spoke, Shenwu extended his large hand toward Yuyin.
Yuyin was a bit puzzled. "You are…"
Shenwu gave a hearty, righteous smile. He could face a goddess like Yuyin without his eyes straying, maintaining his composure. "My name is Shenwu. I’m a second-year student here. Now that you’ve joined our department, we’re all family. If you have any difficulties, just let me know."
A second-year? From his demeanor, Yuyin had thought he was a teacher or some kind of school leader… Shenwu kept his hand extended. Out of politeness, Yuyin shook it. Shenwu, however, secretly applied some pressure. Not to hurt Yuyin, but to display his strength.
Yuyin pretended not to feel it and lightly withdrew her hand.
"Hmm?" Yuyin’s reaction, however, made one of Shenwu’s eyebrows twitch slightly.
Just then, the students quieted down. A tall, thin, middle-aged teacher with a somewhat distinctive appearance, wearing a tracksuit, walked into the main hall, followed by several third-year Swordsman Department students. Walking beside him was a tall girl with light cyan long hair—Liu Xing.
"Senior Liu?" Yuyin also noticed her. So she was also in the Swordsman Department. Yuyin knew this senior was very strong.
"Fellow students, Teacher Chen has a last-minute engagement today, so I will be presiding over our department’s first class of the new semester," the tall, thin teacher, Zhang Huajie, announced.
Among the nearly one hundred students present, many wore obvious looks of disappointment, but some were also relieved.
"Before the lesson, I must first make an important announcement on behalf of Teacher Chen Qian'ning. Teacher Chen Qian'ning has decided and has received the academy’s approval to accept a new Direct Disciple this year."