For several seconds, the four of them simply stood there looking at one another.
Ji Xiaorou eventually pushed her glasses higher and examined the three people Shou Tong had abandoned with her.
Her confusion gradually disappeared, replaced by the confidence of someone who had finally figured everything out.
"So you three are late freshmen."
Xiaorou nodded to herself before continuing. "I don’t know what made you arrive this late, but you are lucky Uncle Shou found Senior Sister Ji for you"
" Follow me properly and I will show you everything you need to know."
Miao Tianhe was the first to laugh, then Ruan Mei covered her mouth, while Xingluo failed to suppress her own chuckle.
Wuxia looked at the pink-haired girl with some amusement.
This junior is quite brave.
Xiaorou’s confident expression slowly became confused. "What are you laughing at?"
"We aren’t freshmen, Junior." Xingluo finally corrected her. "We’re sophomores."
Xiaorou stared at her. "Now, now, don’t joke with me. How could three sophomores suddenly appear here when the semester has already—"
She stopped and finally remembered the passes in her hands.
Xiaorou lowered her gaze and checked them properly for the first time, the confident smile on her face immediately stiffened.
They were indeed sophomore residence passes and more importantly, the large A printed beside each residence number was impossible to misunderstand.
Xiaorou looked at the passes, then slowly raised her head toward the three of them. The embarrassment lasted barely two seconds before curiosity completely replaced it.
"Well, well. This junior apologises for her earlier mistake."
She handed the passes back with an unusually polite smile. "But since Seniors are clearly not ordinary students, perhaps you could tell this curious junior where you have been all this time?"
Tianhe laughed again. "You recover quickly."
Xiaorou turned and started walking, gesturing for them to follow.
"You can say we transferred here," Tianhe answered as they caught up.
"Transferred?"
Xiaorou immediately looked back. "From which city?"
"One of the smaller base cities."
That only made her more curious, students transferred between ordinary academies, but entering Dragon Military Academy midway through the second year was another matter entirely.
Doing so from a smaller base city while receiving three A-grade residences made even less sense. "Then how did—"
Xiaorou noticed the looks exchanged between the three and stopped herself.
Tianhe gave her an apologetic smile. "The situation is a little complicated."
"I understand."
Her expression said very clearly that she did not understand and desperately wanted to.
Still, Xiaorou had enough sense not to continue digging into something they obviously did not want to explain.
Instead, she began introducing the academy as they followed the broad road leading away from the Vice Dean’s residence.
Dragon Military Academy was divided into four primary departments: Combat, Magic, Assassin and Auxiliary.
Students could take courses outside their department, but their main curriculum, instructors and practical assessments depended heavily upon their chosen branch.
"The Combat Department has the most students and also the most lunatics," Xiaorou explained. "They challenge each other constantly, so don’t accept a duel just because someone annoys you."
Tianhe looked interested rather than concerned.
Xiaorou glanced at him and sighed. "Senior, that expression tells me you ignored everything except the word duel."
Ruan Mei laughed.
"The Magic Department has fewer students, but their facilities are ridiculously expensive.
The Assassin Department keeps mostly to itself, and Auxiliary covers healers, alchemists, craftsmen, formation masters and most specialised professions."
Xiaorou continued pointing out important buildings and training areas as they walked, occasionally mixing useful information with rumours about professors, troublesome seniors and places where new students should avoid spending too many contribution points.
Xingluo listened carefully, she could read the official academy rules later, but knowing which professor had an explosive temper or which training hall was always overcrowded was considerably harder to learn from a handbook.
The farther they travelled, the quieter the academy became.
Several training grounds stood completely empty, and only a handful of students could be seen around the sophomore district.
"Most of your year isn’t here right now," Xiaorou explained. "They left for a wilderness hunting assessment two days ago."
That matched what Mu Yaochen had told them.
They eventually entered a wide residential district separated from the busier academy roads by rows of trees and smaller training areas.
Xiaorou checked their passes again and followed the residence numbers deeper inside, then she stopped.
Three large two-storey villas stood along the road ahead, each surrounded by its own courtyard and private training space.
Xingluo looked at the pass in her hand, then toward the nearest villa. "This is a dormitory?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
Xiaorou swallowed before looking between the three of them with considerably more respect than before.
"Seniors, you really are something, three transfer students arriving halfway through the year and immediately receiving A-grade residences..."
Ruan Mei glanced toward her. "Are they that difficult to get?"
"Of course!"
Xiaorou pointed toward the surrounding district.
"Residence grades go from D to S and your placement depends mostly upon academy assessments and ranking. D-grade is..." She hesitated. "Well, D-grade is shit."
"C-grade residences are shared between several students. B-grade gives you a proper private home, while A-grade gives you one of these."
She gestured toward the villas with obvious envy.
Xingluo looked toward the distant residences. "Then what does S-grade give?"
Xiaorou slowly turned toward her. "I live in a measly B-grade house, Senior."
"So?"
"And you are standing in front of your private two-storey villa while asking me about S-grade?"
Xingluo’s lips twitched.
Xiaorou adjusted her glasses and looked away with wounded dignity. "Some people truly don’t understand the suffering of ordinary students."
After checking their residence numbers, the three briefly entered their respective villas and stored the few belongings they had brought with them.
By the time they returned outside, Xiaorou was leaning against the roadside while reading her book again.
A vibration came from her wrist, she lowered the book and checked the message that had arrived on her communicator. Her eyes immediately brightened behind her glasses.
The change was obvious enough that Ruan Mei noticed first. "What happened?"
Xiaorou closed her book with a snap and looked toward them. "Seniors."
The excitement in her voice immediately made Xingluo suspicious.
"Since you have three free days and know almost nothing about Dragon Military Academy..."
Xiaorou pushed her glasses higher, a grin slowly spreading across her face. "Do you want to visit one of our campus specialties?"
The three looked at Xiaorou with questioning expressions. "What do you mean by a campus specialty?" Xingluo asked.
Xiaorou glanced toward both sides of the residential road before leaning slightly closer, as though she were about to reveal something forbidden.
Her eyes settled on Miao Tianhe first. "Senior Tianhe, you like fighting, right? And watching strong people fight?"
Tianhe answered almost immediately. "Of course."
Xiaorou’s smile widened as though she had already secured one vote. "Then how about visiting the academy’s fighting arena?"
Xingluo looked at her in surprise. "There is actually a fighting arena inside the academy?"
"Why wouldn’t there be?"
Xiaorou adjusted her glasses and started walking, clearly expecting them to follow.
"Dragon Military Academy trains Awakeners for real battles, the academy would rather let students settle things inside a controlled arena than pretend everyone will peacefully hold hands."
Tianhe was already following her and Xingluo and Ruan Mei exchanged a look before walking after them.
"The fights aren’t completely unrestricted," Xiaorou continued. "Both sides have to agree before entering and killing an opponent is forbidden unless the match has been specially authorized."
She raised another finger. "There are normal sparring matches, ranked challenges and several special formats depending upon the arena being used."
" Injuries are common, but healers and emergency formations are stationed nearby for anything serious."
Ruan Mei glanced toward her. "And I assume students gamble on these fights."
Xiaorou looked offended for half a second. "It is called betting, Senior."
Ruan Mei raised an eyebrow. "And who exactly runs this betting?"
Xiaorou shrugged as though the answer should have been obvious. "Who else do you think? The Vice Dean."
The three stopped walking, even Tianhe turned toward her with a strange expression, while Xingluo wondered whether she had heard correctly.
"Vice Dean Mu?" Xingluo asked.
"Of course." Xiaorou nodded casually. "The arena is one of his favourite places in the academy, most of the betting rules were approved by him too."
Xingluo remembered the centuries-old powerhouse who had nearly set his own hair on fire during an experiment earlier that day.
Ruan Mei remained silent for a moment before muttering, "What kind of academy did we transfer into?"
Xiaorou grinned. "The interesting kind."
Xingluo gave her a doubtful look.
Xiaorou ignored it and continued, "You can bet academy contribution points, credits and certain approved resources."
"There are limits for ordinary matches, though the larger ranked fights can become quite expensive."
That immediately explained why Xiaorou had looked so excited after checking her communicator.
Tianhe smiled. "Someone interesting is fighting today?"
"Several people, actually."
Xiaorou turned around and began walking backwards.
"Besides, the arena isn’t limited to students fighting each other, there are beast matches, summoned creatures, mechanical constructs and occasionally other things the academy brings in for practical combat."
Xingluo raised an eyebrow. "Other things?"
Xiaorou’s grin returned. "You will understand when we get there."
She turned around again and increased her pace, leaving Xingluo and Ruan Mei to follow while Tianhe walked several steps ahead with considerably more interest than before.
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