Looking at the two huge dark circles under Tao Xinyi’s eyes, it was obvious she hadn’t slept a wink all night.
Six students had mysteriously vanished overnight and still hadn’t returned.
Strange massive holes had appeared in the girls’ dormitory walls.
A centenarian had been chased in the middle of the night until his wheelchair was totalled.
One bizarre incident after another cast a shadow over the entire Pioneer Academy.
Last night every tutor had been dragged out of bed for a ghost hunt and bustled about until dawn.
Apart from the wig that Dean Xiao had clutched in a death grip, they hadn’t found a single clue.
The tutors hadn’t slept either and this morning they all looked like frost-bitten aubergines.
Jiang Nan felt sorry for them. “Sigh, the tutors are pretty pitiful too. I wonder how Old Master Xiao is doing.”
Tao Xinyi rubbed her eyes and pulled herself together.
“Since everyone has chosen Pioneer Academy, I’m sure you already understand the nature of our institution.”
“Your ultimate goal is to become Pioneers and lead this era forward.”
“That’s why what we teach here is different from anywhere else. All the textbooks are stored on your desk tablets. Have a look.”
Jiang Nan tapped his screen and was instantly dumbfounded.
《Detailed Explanation of Global Spirit Techniques》
《Classification of Esper Abilities》
《Spirit Beast Encyclopaedia》
《Curse Script Studies》
《Spiritual Energy Circuit Theory》
《Spirit-Containing Materials Science》
《General Outline of World Spirit Ruins》
《Treatise on Spirit Ruin Cores》
…
A whole load of ridiculously technical titles left Jiang Nan completely bewildered.
What on earth are these?
Only at the very bottom did he spot physics, chemistry and maths.
And they were electives.
Tao Xinyi smiled. “These subjects are the knowledge that spirit warriors at the forefront of the era have summarised since the spiritual energy resurgence.”
“Many fields are still blank slates. I hope one day you lot will be the ones to fill those gaps and leave your brilliant mark on this era.”
Yu Qingqing timidly raised her hand. “Will there be exams?”
Tao Xinyi grinned. “Yes! If you fail, you get beaten.”
Jiang Nan: ???
Bloody hell? That direct?
Tao Xinyi continued. “Two professional classes in the morning! Practical training in the afternoon!”
“In the evening we go to the nursing home to do volunteer work. That’s how we end each day.”
“Monday to Friday are school days.”
“Weekends are field-mission days!”
Everyone froze. What the hell are field missions?
We don’t even get weekends off? This place is demonic!
“Every Friday evening the academy releases a bunch of field missions for you to choose from.”
“Difficulty ranks range from Peerless, Triple-S, down to A-B-C, seven levels in total.”
“Completing a mission earns you contribution points corresponding to its difficulty.”
“Many training facilities on campus require contribution points to use, like cultivation chambers, gravity rooms, and so on.”
Jiang Nan’s mouth twisted.
Like hell I’m going! What use are contribution points?
I’m already VIP amongst VIPs. Why would I go suffer?
Days off are for days off. Setting up my stall is far better!
He immediately lowered his head and started fiddling with the desk tablet.
Yet right now every classmate in the room was buzzing with excitement.
Some were already itching to start their academy life.
Tao Xinyi: “Mmm, for easier management we still need to elect a class monitor!”
“They need to be responsible, helpful, positive, that sort of person!”
The moment she finished speaking, countless gazes in the classroom locked onto Jiang Nan.
Jiang Nan’s little finger swiped.
A voice came from the desk tablet.
“Oh~ Amberley oh ho!”
The entire class was baffled.
Candy Crush?
You’re already on level 542?
How on earth did you manage to install Candy Crush on an educational-system tablet?
Jiang Nan: !!!
Damn, careless! Forgot to mute it!
One tap and he instantly switched back to the original interface, then sat bolt upright, pretending nothing had happened.
Tao Xinyi: “Since everyone is so unanimous, Jiang Nan will be class monitor!”
“Yep! Perfect!”
“Who else but our God Nan? No objections!”
“My own uncle wouldn’t get my vote, only God Nan!”
Jiang Nan: ???
Hold on! Wait a minute!
Since when did I agree to be class monitor?
When did we reach a consensus?
Did anyone ask for my opinion?
Responsible? Helpful? Positive? I don’t have a single one of those qualities!
“I…”
“Right! Let’s start our first lesson! Curse Script Studies! Everyone turn to page one of the textbook!”
…
The entire morning left Jiang Nan’s little brain in a complete fog.
Somehow becoming class monitor was bad enough.
But Curse Script Studies was pure torture!
Jiang Nan had guessed correctly.
Curse script was exactly those mysterious tadpole-like symbols carved on spirit-pool floors and on cores.
Not only did they all look the same, but a single script could have seven or eight different meanings depending on combination!
Who the hell can remember that!
How on earth did Han Menglu manage to comprehend 83.5% of the Toy Box core?
That woman is terrifying!
Finally surviving until the afternoon, Tao Xinyi led everyone to the physical training hall.
The instant they stepped inside.
Everyone let out gasps of shock because their abilities suddenly stopped working!
Even Jiang Nan was the same!
The training hall covered a full 1000 square metres. Floor, walls, even the ceiling were built from black special-alloy steel.
Tao Xinyi smiled. “Abilities are disabled inside the physical training hall, otherwise it wouldn’t train your physique properly.”
“The special alloy steel used to build the hall is mixed with spirit-binding iron ore, the same ore used to make spirit-binding handcuffs.”
“You’ll learn about it later in Materials Science.”
Right now the hall rang with roars and wails.
Guan Hu was shirtless, wearing work trousers and boxing shoes.
Black gloves on his hands, he was rampaging through a hundred students from classes 4 and 5.
Iron fists like cannonballs, a tiger descended from the mountain, sweat flying in glistening arcs!
Seventy or eighty students already lay unconscious on the floor, faces swollen, sprawled in all sorts of weird positions.
Clearly all KO’d by Guan Hu!
“Can you lot be any more rubbish? Huh?”
“With skills like these? You couldn’t even beat Grandpa Ma from the nursing home! Get up!”
“Peach is here? Give me a moment, three minutes is plenty!”
With that his punches grew even fiercer, beating the students until they vomited their lunch.
Right now all fifty students from class 10 stood petrified at the entrance.
“I… I have a very bad feeling about this!”
“So this is the legendary physical training?”
Qin Shou’s legs shook like two strands of noodles.
“Is it too late to ask for sick leave?”
“Bloody hell! Abilities don’t work here, so how is Instructor Tiger still this ferocious?”
Tao Xinyi sniggered. “Brother Tiger’s body can withstand 12-mm machine-cannon fire.”
“Oh, by the way, he’s an earth-element output type.”
Jiang Nan: !!!
Bloody hell! Bulletproof flesh?
You’re a long-range elemental spirit warrior!
How did you train your body to this monstrous level?
Melee mage, anyone?
Two minutes later all one hundred students were flat on the floor!
Guan Hu wiped the hot sweat from his face. “I’ll give you lot ten minutes!”
“Ten minutes from now I don’t want to see a single one of you still lying on the ground!”
He strode over to Tao Xinyi. “They all ready?”
Tao Xinyi giggled. “Only ten minutes? Isn’t that a bit tight?”
Guan Hu grinned. “Not tight at all! After I flatten your fifty, I’ll still have three minutes to rest!”
Qi Yu’s face darkened. “Gotta say, Instructor Tiger, talking big like that is gonna get you punched!”
Wu Liang: “What rubbish are you spouting? I refuse to believe it!”
Ye Xinghe narrowed his eyes. “Seven minutes? You’re underestimating us.”
Qin Shou swallowed hard. “They’re the ones who said it! Nothing to do with me! When the beating starts, don’t count me in!”
Author’s note:
Tiger bro is very fierce!
