Chapter 8
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 8: Academy
To enter Baishi Town, one had to pay a fee, but since Yun Ye was following Liu Quan, no one dared to approach him for money.
Once inside Baishi Town, Liu Quan became annoyed, giving Yun Ye a glance that left him unable to move, preventing him from further chatting.
With no other choice, Yun Ye had to ask someone on the main road for directions to the Academy.
Sure enough, the Academy was special; when passersby were stopped, they displayed impatience, but as soon as they heard the destination was the Academy, they immediately became enthusiastic and provided detailed directions for Yun Ye.
After thanking them, Yun Ye took the main road for safety’s sake.
He observed everything along the way.
Baishi Town was indeed not comparable to Xiaoye Village or Mingzhu Village; it was bustling with activity. The streets were filled with numerous vendors, and Yun Ye even saw stalls selling snacks, with no shortage of customers.
In Mingzhu Village, this would be impossible; there was not enough money even for essential goods, let alone snacks.
A pancake enough for one person to be full cost a whole piece of dark copper, which was completely unacceptable for the poor.
One piece of dark copper could keep a family of three fed for a day if they ate sparingly.
Even though that covered two meals, there was still a stark six-fold difference.
For the poor, the sheer taste was not enough to justify spending five times the price.
However, the residents of Baishi Town did not care about any of that.
They were different from those outside; they didn’t live in constant uncertainty, and saving money was much easier for them.
Thus, they weren’t shy about spending it.
This presented huge business opportunities.
Lost in his thoughts, Yun Ye quickly arrived at his destination.
As he looked up, he saw three large characters in gilded wood that read "Dragon Flying and Phoenix Dancing." Although Yun Ye did not know the characters, he figured they must stand for the Academy, as they matched the ones on his token.
In front of the Academy sat a young man in black clothing.
Before him was a stone table with an accounting book and a box full of tokens.
Yun Ye took out his token for a closer look; it was exactly the same: a black base with blue-green characters written on it.
“Is this… the Academy?” Yun Ye approached and asked, holding out his token.
The young man lazily glanced at him and replied, “Leave the token, and tell me your name and where you’re from.”
“Xiaoye… Village… Yang Shi,” Yun Ye said respectfully, placing the token into the box.
“What a slow and unclear speaker; the quality is getting worse and worse,” the young man scoffed, tapping the table with his fingers, causing the accounting book to flip to a page that had already been filled with writing.
Without picking up a pen, the young man simply brushed his fingers across the words, and the writing appeared.
Then he tossed out a gray token, which Yun Ye hurriedly caught. Before Yun Ye could ask any questions, the young man impatiently said, “This is your identity token. Take it inside, room number 7 in Block C, and find it yourself!”
“Also, pay attention to the Academy’s rules: Do not attack fellow students, and do not enter other people’s rooms, even if invited, or if it’s your own desire. Don’t ask why; there’s no reason!”
“Alright, now get lost!”
Yun Ye had originally intended to ask more questions, but the young man’s attitude clearly indicated he was not pleased, so he decided that asking more would be pointless.
He silently tucked the token away and entered the Academy, looking around.
Students already filled the Academy, and there were quite a few. A quick glance revealed two types.
One group consisted of students in black uniforms, all old students who had enrolled in previous years, even though their outfits had slight variations.
The other group wore diverse clothing, mostly plain and even shabby, with expressions of confusion clearly visible. Yun Ye categorized them as new students.
Although Yun Ye could not read and could not find his dormitory on his own, he figured out who the old students and new students were. He followed the new students around for a bit and casually eavesdropped to understand the situation at the Academy.
It turned out that the rooms were divided into four categories: A, B, C, and D. The vast majority of new students were in C-level rooms.
The classification did not just apply to the rooms; everything else was similar, mainly aimed at filtering students.
Every year, there were exams, and if one could not pass, their status would be downgraded.
After three failures, a student would be expelled.
The Academy was full of competition and tested individual abilities, standing in stark contrast to the friendly education found in modern schools.
Yun Ye realized he needed to quickly adjust his mindset; otherwise, he would struggle to adapt. Forget about mingling with the elite of Baishi Town; he would likely be eliminated during the preliminary selection phase.
"Three days from now, they will teach the Qi Cultivation Technique, one hour each day, with an additional meal provided. It seems this extra meal is quite unusual?"
Yun Ye pondered over the last thing he heard and pushed open the door labeled "C7."
"Creek."
A neat room came into view, fully equipped with bedding, free of drafts or strange smells.
Yun Ye was even more surprised to find that this room had only one bed, meaning it was a single room!
Could it be that very few people were enrolling?
No, it should be said that the Academy was simply vast, after all, it was run by the government; fifteen square meters was nothing.
In this world, who among the powerful and wealthy did not have mansions spanning thousands of square meters?
It was also quite common to have residences designed like gardens, a stark contrast to the cramped living spaces of modern times.
"So, this is what those students meant by the downgrade—everyone starts with a room, and if they fail the exam within a year, they downgrade to a double room. In two years, it could be a quadruple room, and three years… expelled."
Yun Ye did not put down his bag but carried it through the corridor, arriving at a lively area.
Tables were lined up, and many people were already sitting down, eating heartily.
Smelling the food, Yun Ye realized this must be the Academy’s cafeteria.
He rubbed his stomach, approached, and ordered a large bowl of food while also asking about the price.
As expected, just like Yang Shu had mentioned, the food at the Academy was free; students could eat as much as they wanted. This was the most basic benefit of the Academy—if one had to pay for food, it would be meaningless for the poor to attend.
Feeling a bit hungry, Yun Ye wolfed down a large bowl, but soon realized he felt overwhelmingly greasy.
The cafeteria’s meat was just plain salted boiled meat, and even a little too much made it very rich, greatly diminishing his appetite.
Yun Ye rubbed his stomach and forced himself to eat two more bowls until he felt stuffed before finally stopping.
He suppressed his nausea and got up to leave.
At that moment, two well-dressed youths walked by, furrowing their brows as they scrutinized Yun Ye. They immediately scolded, "What a rude and uncultured brat, don’t obstruct our view here; get out of the way."
"This academy is filled with beggars; I wonder how many years it has been since they last bathed, such bad luck!"
Born into luxury, draped in rich garments, they naturally looked down on someone like Yun Ye, whom they considered a "wild man."
In contrast, Yun Ye, who faced discrimination, didn’t even frown; he simply departed more quickly.
The two well-dressed youths were used to the fear of the lower class, casting a contemptuous glance at Yun Ye’s back before continuing their grand discussions. Soon, their food was served.
It was a bowl of unappealing yet fragrant medicinal dishes, completely different from Yun Ye’s salted boiled meat.
They tossed a shiny silver coin to pay and began to eat heartily.
