Miss Loser is too enchanting

"I keep hearing about the Continent’s top talent, but who is he? And who are the academy’s 10 greatest geniuses?" Dugu Qianye asked.

"You actually don’t know about the Continent’s top talent?" Everyone looked at Dugu Qianye in surprise, with Sun Kui exclaiming aloud.

Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Dugu Qianye felt somewhat embarrassed. Could she admit that she had been too busy cultivating and practicing alchemy to pay attention to these matters?

"He is Divine Temple’s Saint Heir Yun Jin. At the age of 14, he was already a Great Phantom Master of level 1, and now, six years have passed; I wonder what level he’s reached," Sun Kui said admiringly, "As for the academy’s 10 great geniuses, I only found out about them today. They are the Second Prince, His Highness Gris, who is 23 and already a level 3 Phantom King; the Feng Family’s genius Feng Jiang, 22 years old, a level 1 Phantom King; the Mercenary Guild Young Master Dan Jingtian, 20 years old, a level 9 Great Phantom Master; Mo Family’s Mo Ziqing, 21 years old, a level 9 Great Phantom Master; He Family’s He Yan, 21 years old, a level 8 Great Sword Master; Jia Family’s Jia Ren, 20 years old, a level 8 Great Phantom Master; Ye Family’s Ye Canglan, 19 years old, a level 7 Great Phantom Master; Long Family’s Long Xiang, 20 years old, a level 7 Great Phantom Master; the Fourth Prince Ares, 19 years old, a level 4 Great Phantom Master; and the Feng Family’s Feng Xue, 17 years old, a level 1 Great Phantom Master."

"Wow, they’re really impressive!" Lei Xiaohu crossed his arms in front of his chest with a look of admiration.

"What else did you find out?" Dugu Qianye asked Sun Kui.

"Hehe, there’s also the fact that your story is spreading everywhere today," Sun Kui said with a grin, but to Dugu Qianye, it seemed more like a smirk.

"That’s all? Nothing else?" Dugu Qianye said.

"How could that be? My nickname is ’Mr. Know-It-All.’ Is there anything I can’t find out about? I’ve even found out what kind of underwear our quirky vice principal wears! Tell me, what do you want to know?" Sun Kui patted his chest boldly.

"Really? Then tell me about the academy’s network of relationships," Dugu Qianye said with a smile.

"That, well, it’s actually all related to the 10 great geniuses. The Feng Family has a good relationship with the Jia Family, so Feng Jiang, Feng Xue, Jia Ren, and the Second Prince are in one alliance. The Mo Family is on good terms with the Long Family and the Ye Family, so Mo Ziqing, Long Xiang, and Ye Canglan have a good relationship as well. Since Dan Jingtian, He Yan, and the Fourth Prince share a dormitory with Mo Ziqing and Long Xiang, they are quite close privately. The academy’s other powers are affiliates of these two big alliances," Sun Kui said mysteriously, "I guess this has something to do with the upcoming struggle for the throne."

"Hehe, these matters are too far from us. We should focus on studying well and cultivating properly," Gao Liang diverted the topic, "What about the Arena?"

"With so many people in the academy, it’s inevitable that there will be some friction between students. Since fighting is not allowed on campus, the Arena was established. However, you can’t fight to the death there. Of course, if you want to spar with someone, besides the training facilities, you can also go to the Arena."

"Where is the library?" Dugu Qianye asked.

"It’s located between the teaching area and the dormitory area; the tallest building there. It’s said to contain over a million books, covering various fields. However, only the first two floors are accessible for borrowing at will; upper floors require Study Points to access."

"What are Study Points?" Sang Yu asked.

"Study Points represent your contributions to the academy. Alchemists receive them for producing elixirs for the academy, Artifact Refiners for crafting Phantom Devices, and Beast Tamers for taming Phantom Beasts. Phantom Masters and Sword Masters can only earn them by accepting tasks from the academy. With Study Points, you can gain access to the library’s upper floors and have the privilege to train in the Cultivation Tower. Every new student starts with 1000 Study Points," Sun Kui explained.

"The Cultivation Tower?" Lei Xiaohu asked, with a tiger-ish curiosity, looking at Sun Kui.

"Do you see those two tall towers to the west of the academy?" Sun Kui asked. Seeing everyone nod, he continued, "That’s the Cultivation Tower. It’s said to be a Divine Artifact, one that can accumulate Phantom Qi from its surroundings, making the Phantom Qi inside it particularly dense. A single day of cultivation inside is equivalent to 10 days outside. However, ordinary people can’t stand it for more than two days as the meridians become too pressured, and if they can’t take it, they will come out. The other tower is prepared for Sword Masters, filled with methods to train Sword Masters and to raise their levels. But I’ve heard it’s quite terrifying."

"This academy really has a couple of tricks up its sleeve," Dugu Qianye murmured.

"Sun Kui, you’re amazing to have gathered so much information in just one day. From now on, we’ll rely on you as our source of news in our courtyard!" Sang Yu said, patting Sun Kui on the shoulder.

"Sure!" The praise from a beautiful lady made Sun Kui giddy with happiness, and he unwittingly took on the heavy responsibility of being the news source.

"Alright, we have the school ceremony early tomorrow, everyone should go back and rest," Dugu Qianye said as he stood up. Upon hearing Dugu Qianye’s words, everyone realized it was getting late and they all got up and left.

The next morning, Dugu Qianye got up early and prepared breakfast. Xiaohuo had insisted strongly the night before that Dugu Qianye cook for him, and she, unable to resist the nagging, agreed, realizing it had been a while since she made anything for Xiaohuo to eat. Originally planning to only make something for Xiaohuo, she then thought about it and decided to make breakfast for everyone else too, since they would be living together in the same courtyard in the future.

"I knew it smelled delicious!" Just as Dugu Qianye finished setting the table, Sang Yu appeared at the kitchen doorway. She came over, took a spoonful of porridge, and planned to just sample it, but found herself unable to stop after the first taste.

"Baili Xie, the breakfast you made is so delicious!"

"I just whipped up something simple. Go call the other three for breakfast," Dugu Qianye said, turning her attention to the steamed buns in the steamer.

Eating someone’s food softens the mouth, taking someone’s hand shortens the reach. Sang Yu, wanting to eat more, obediently went out to call the others. Soon all four of them were gathered, and seeing the spread of breakfast on the table, they all got quite excited and sat down to eat.

"I was just worrying about what to do for breakfast! Baili Xie, you’re a godsend!" Sun Kui exaggerated.

"What’s this? I’ve never seen it before. But it’s really good!" Lei Xiaohu took a bite of a steamed bun and then drank some porridge.

"It’s just preserved egg and lean pork porridge, pumpkin steamed buns, and pickled radish," Dugu Qianye said as he sat down, called Xiaohuo out, and began feeding it pieces of the steamed bun.

"Eh? A colorful little bird? Is this your phantom beast?" Sang Yu asked. Girls usually couldn’t resist cute Phantom Beasts, and Xiaohuo instantly won Sang Yu’s affection.

Dugu Qianye nodded without saying much, and then he continued eating while feeding Xiaohuo.

"It actually eats the same food as we do? Your Phantom Beast is too high-level," Gao Liang said.

You’re actually benefiting from its presence! Dugu Qianye smiled slightly but didn’t voice her thoughts.

After breakfast, they all cleaned up the dishes and went to attend the school’s opening ceremony. Dugu Qianye hid Xiaohuo in his sleeve so it could see the outside while not drawing attention from others.

When the group arrived at the campus square, it was already filled with students. Dugu Qianye and the others simply picked a spot in the newcomers’ area, and not long after, the opening ceremony began.