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墨書 Inktalez
In a short while, the little beggar had drunk two bowls of porridge and eaten most of the dishes on the table. He looked pitifully at the remaining food, and Liu Guanfeng smiled at him, saying, "Younger Brother, you can't eat anymore; there will be delicious food tonight. If you eat too much now, you won't be able to eat later."
The little beggar nodded repeatedly, saying, "I will listen to Big Brother."
"Younger Brother, I haven't asked your name yet. What is your name?"
The little beggar shook his head, "I don't know; my grandfather just calls me 'the little one.'"
"Then what about your father and mother?"
He shook his head again, "I don't know. Grandfather said my parents went to a very far place."
Hearing this, Liu Guanfeng guessed that the little one's parents had likely passed away like his grandfather.
"From today on, you will follow me. Do you see that room?" Liu Guanfeng pointed to the room he had cleaned for him.
"Yes, I see it," the little one nodded.
"From now on, that room is yours. You will live there from now on, understood?"
The little one looked at Liu Guanfeng in surprise, "I can live there? That house is so beautiful."
"Yes, you will live there from now on. These clothes are also yours." Liu Guanfeng pushed a pile of clothes toward him; they were all clothes meant for him. Seeing these clothes that he couldn't wear yet, the little one was filled with joy and excitement.
In the evening, two servants returned and informed Liu Guanfeng that everything had been taken care of. They also brought back a small cloth bag.
Liu Guanfeng opened the bag to find a letter and a jade pendant inside. Upon opening the letter, he learned about the little one's background: his name was Dai Shihua, the youngest son of Dai Hong, the head of the Dai Family Commerce Merchant Guild.
The Dai Family inadvertently discovered a vein of Secret Silver. Secret Silver is an essential ore for crafting high-level weapons. Therefore, if the Dai Family secretly mined all the Secret Silver, the Dai Family Chamber of Commerce would leap to become the major Merchant Guild of the Huari Empire.
For some unknown reason, this secret was leaked, and one night, the Dai Family Chamber of Commerce was besieged by dozens of knights. The parents of Little Dai, along with his two older brothers, one sister, and the household guards, were all killed.
Little Dai and his grandfather managed to escape under the full protection of their parents and household guards, but his grandfather was severely injured during their escape. They went into hiding and, due to a lack of money, ended up begging in Rain City.
In the end, Little Dai's grandfather wrote in a letter that if Little Dai could not become a knight or did not reach the level of Advanced Knight, he must never reveal the true circumstances of their situation.
The only remaining item was a round jade pendant. The front side featured a sun with the character "Dai" written in its center. On the back of the pendant was inscribed "Hua Ri Dai Family Commerce."
Liu Guanfeng carefully stored these two items, intending to pass them on to Little Dai when he grew up and was capable. Liu Guanfeng's intentions were not cruel; rather, it was to protect Little Dai so he could live better and happier. Thus, Little Dai continued to live with the Liu Family.
Before long, it was time for school to start. Rainfront Academy is located about a kilometer north of Rain City and occupies an area equivalent to more than half of Rain City. The academy is divided into primary and intermediate divisions.
Each student must study for four years in the primary division and five years in the intermediate division. The primary division focuses mainly on foundational knowledge with relatively little time dedicated to cultivation. In contrast, the intermediate division emphasizes cultivation while interspersing foundational knowledge.
Both divisions have six branches: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and Special. The Special branch is for those who cannot become knights like me; it holds the lowest status among all branches and has the smallest area and fewest students. Generally, when poor families learn that their child cannot become a knight, they do not allow them to continue their studies but instead teach them a trade for future livelihood.
After breakfast with Bao Rui, Copper Bull, Iron Bull, and Nangong Hongxiu—our group of five—each taking their first mount, we took a carriage to Rainfront Academy.
Upon disembarking from the carriage, we were greeted by crowds since it was registration day for new students. Looking up at the academy's grand entrance, two large iron gates stood impressively tall. Beside each gate was a small door with six tables set up inside; each table bore signs reading Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and Special.
Above the main gate were four vigorous characters spelling out "Rainfront Academy." It is said that these characters were written by the first principal of the academy who was an upper-tier Advanced Knight just one step away from becoming a Divine Knight. Due to age preventing further breakthroughs, he was appointed as principal at Rainfront Academy.
After dismissing the carriage driver, our group of five squeezed into the academy along with our mounts and arrived at our respective branch registration areas. All branches except for the Special branch had long lines; there wasn’t a single person at the Special branch where Liu Guanfeng needed to go.
Liu Guanfeng approached the table for the Special branch where a middle-aged woman around forty years old sat behind it. Upon seeing Liu Guanfeng approach, she smiled and said:
"Are you here to check in? Please take out your enrollment book."
Liu Guanfeng handed the enrollment book to the woman in front of him. He already knew what was written in it, including his attributes and meridian data from the initial assessment.
The female teacher opened the enrollment book to register, speaking to him as she did so. "Liu Guanfeng, balanced attributes, blocked meridians. How unfortunate. Your physical condition is excellent; it's a pity you can't learn any techniques. Here is your room number. The opening ceremony will be held on the academy's playground at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Don't be late."
"Thank you, teacher." He bowed to her and then informed Bao Rui and the others of his dormitory room number before heading toward his special division.
Walking along the main road, he faced the school's four-story office building, with the large playground located behind it. Next to the office building were three iron gate doors, each marked with the name of its respective division. Liu Guanfeng's special division was through the gate at the far right.
Entering through the gate marked with a special character, he found the environment inside quite elegant. Various plants lined both sides of the path. Not far ahead, he saw five two-story buildings: one was a teacher's office building, two were teaching buildings, and two were dormitory buildings. Although they appeared somewhat shabby, the environment was pleasant, resembling a paradise.
Following the directions, Liu Guanfeng found his dormitory building; his room was on the first floor of the second building at the far right. Pushing open the door, he saw four beds and four cabinets for clothes inside. One bed by the window already had someone resting on it; upon hearing the door open, that person sat up.
"Hello, are you also in this dormitory?" asked the person sitting up.
Liu Guanfeng nodded. "Yes, hello, my name is Liu Guanfeng."
"Hello, my name is Platinum Wen." After introducing themselves, Platinum Wen began helping Liu Guanfeng unpack his luggage. In fact, Liu Guanfeng didn't bring much since he wasn't staying on campus; he would need to handle some procedures once Bao Rui and the others arrived.
Through their conversation, Liu Guanfeng and Platinum Wen got to know each other better. When Platinum Wen learned that Liu Guanfeng's father was the City Defense General, he became quite courteous. Through chatting, Liu Guanfeng also discovered that Platinum Wen's parents owned a small tavern in Rain City; due to its good location, business was quite decent and their living conditions were comfortable.
Platinum Wen was also an only child. Although he couldn't practice techniques, acquiring some basic knowledge and making friends would greatly help him become self-sufficient in the future. This was why Platinum Wen had been sent to study.
As for why Platinum Wen couldn't learn techniques, it was because he had blocked meridians just like Liu Guanfeng. For families like Platinum Wen's, basic needs could be met, but spending extra money on elixirs was impossible. Even if they had money, there was no guarantee they could buy elixirs.
After a while without any other roommates arriving, Liu Guanfeng asked, "Are we the only two in this dormitory?"
"Perhaps so," Platinum Wen replied. "There are very few people in our special division; other divisions have several classes while we struggle to gather enough students for even one class."
Liu Guanfeng and Platinum Wen were chatting casually until around noon when Bao Rui and the others finally arrived. They also shared their room numbers with Liu Guanfeng. Bao Rui and Copper Bull were assigned to Fire Class Eight, while Iron Bull was placed in Earth Class Three. Liu Guanfeng introduced the three of them to Platinum Wen, and they exchanged greetings.
Seeing that it was already noon, Liu Guanfeng suggested going out for lunch. It had been a long time since he graduated from university, and he missed the days of eating at school—not so much the food itself, but the feeling of sharing meals with classmates.
Each division at Rainfront Academy had its own cafeteria, but the best one was Cafeteria, located next to the school’s administration building. It had three levels: the third floor was for teachers, the second floor offered gourmet food, and the first floor was a general dining area.
The five of them arrived at Cafeteria, where the first floor featured a spacious hall with scattered seating and four long benches beside each table. Liu Guanfeng initially intended to go to the second floor for gourmet food, but upon seeing the lively atmosphere on the first floor, he couldn't resist sitting there; it felt just like school days.
So, Liu Guanfeng found a spot by the window and sat down. He gave Bao Rui three Silver Coins to order food while Copper Bull and Iron Bull followed to help. After a short while, their meals arrived, and everyone began to eat and chat together.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, they heard someone shouting at the entrance, “Get up! Get up! Are you blind? Can’t you see our young master has arrived? Quickly clear the way!”
Upon hearing this, Liu Guanfeng frowned and looked toward the door. Students who wanted to enter or exit instinctively made way, clearly annoyed but too intimidated to speak up.
Although everyone dining here came from well-off families, they were not from extremely wealthy households; children from affluent families typically attended Meteor Academy in the capital.
The first person to enter was a boy dressed extravagantly with a darker complexion. He walked with his head held high, staring at the ceiling as if looking down on everyone else. He muttered under his breath:
“I don’t understand why my father won’t let me go to Meteor Academy and instead sends me to this godforsaken place. What are these country bumpkins staring at?”
With that, he headed straight up to the second floor, followed by seven or eight lackeys behind him.
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