26: Reunion
The next morning, Xu Yan woke up from his sleep. After a simple wash-up and breakfast, he left the hotel and headed toward the location Zhao Xuan had mentioned.
When Xu Yan arrived at the agreed meeting spot, there was still about half an hour left until the time they had set yesterday.
As soon as he arrived, Xu Yan spotted Zhao Xuan waiting, who did not look like he had just arrived.
He quickly walked up and greeted Zhao Xuan.
“Senior Zhao Xuan.”
Seeing Xu Yan arrive, Zhao Xuan immediately dropped his slightly bored expression and smiled at Xu Yan. “You're quite early. We still have half an hour until our agreed time. Have you eaten?”
“Yes, I have,” Xu Yan replied.
“Then let's set off.”
After speaking, he led Xu Yan toward a certain direction.
After walking for about ten minutes, the two arrived next to an open space.
Zhao Xuan took out a Token from his Storage Device and activated it. Immediately, a massive training ground appeared before their eyes.
Seeing Xu Yan's surprised expression, Zhao Xuan explained, “This is a Mobile Training Ground specially created by the Academy. It can open up a separate space within the Secret Realm. It's plug-and-play, and you can take it away when you're done. It's very convenient.”
After speaking, he led Xu Yan directly into the training ground.
Upon entering the training ground, they found that people were already waiting inside.
Most of the groupings were one-on-one: a senior or a teacher bringing a Grade 12 Student like Xu Yan. Only a few individuals had two or three students with them.
Zhao Xuan informed him that while the seniors were indeed from the Eight Great Academies, the teachers were not from the Eighth Academy.
Instead, they were teachers from High Schools across various cities. Every year, these High Schools would receive a certain quota based on the previous year's performance, allowing them to bring their most talented students to participate in the Assessment.
This was only the first batch. Some schools planned to observe for a while, confirm the most suitable candidates, and then participate in the second round of assessments.
Since there was still some time before the Assessment began, and neither of them recognized anyone there, nor did they intend to socialize, they found an empty spot and waited.
As time passed, several more groups, either one-on-one or one-on-many, entered the training ground.
This time, Xu Yan saw people he knew.
Aside from a few opponents he had fought at the Beast Tamer Association but hadn't interacted deeply with, the most familiar sight was the sibling duo, Lu Qinghua and Lu Ming.
However, this time, besides Lu Ming, Lu Qinghua had also brought another young woman.
The moment Lu Ming saw Xu Yan, he quickly greeted Lu Qinghua and ran toward Xu Yan.
“Xu Yan, Xu Yan! Where were you during the Beast Tide yesterday? I couldn't find you.”
Facing the energetic and straightforward inquiry from the red-clothed youth, Xu Yan replied gently, “I was at the North City Gate yesterday.”
After speaking, he stepped aside, revealing Zhao Xuan behind him, and began introducing the two parties.
“This is Senior Zhao Xuan, from the Third Academy.
Senior Zhao Xuan, this is Lu Ming, a good friend I met at the Beast Tamer Association training ground.”
After Xu Yan's introduction, the two exchanged simple greetings, though it was clear neither intended to form a deep connection.
After exchanging greetings, Lu Ming's attention returned to Xu Yan.
“You were at the North City Gate? No wonder I couldn't find you. My sister and I were at the West City Gate yesterday, and we encountered all sorts of Exotic Beasts. Even Yan Ling almost suffered a great loss.
I was worried you might miss this opportunity and thought about messaging you to come with us, but my sister stopped me, saying it would be overstepping, and that you had your own channels to come through...”
A long string of words poured out of Lu Ming's mouth, momentarily overwhelming Xu Yan.
However, Xu Yan didn't have to fend him off for long. The arrival of Lu Qinghua and the young woman beside her rescued Xu Yan from Lu Ming's endless chatter.
After scolding Lu Ming—who had forgotten his sister for the third time upon seeing Xu Yan—Lu Qinghua greeted Zhao Xuan and then introduced the young woman beside her to the two of them.
“This is my Junior, Su Yao.”
After the group exchanged another round of pleasantries, Lu Qinghua turned the conversation back, saying to Xu Yan with a sincere expression:
“Xu Yan, I noticed you during the days you were battling Lu Ming at the training ground. I took it for granted then, assuming you would be with Lu Ming, and planned to invite you after the first round of the Beast Tide, but I missed the chance in the end.
However, there are a few things I must tell you: our First Academy's Combat Department is still the strongest. Given your Shadow Light Spider's strength, the First Academy is the most suitable for you. No matter how good the Combat Department at the Third Academy is, it is still suppressed by the Cultivation Department above it. I hope you will consider this.”
After hearing Lu Qinghua's words, Lu Ming subconsciously wanted to pull Xu Yan and Su Yao aside, lest they start fighting and injure the two of them.
However, unexpectedly, Zhao Xuan, the “victim,” showed no major reaction to this blatant attempt at poaching.
As for Zhao Xuan, he truly had no excessive thoughts regarding Lu Qinghua's words.
On one hand, this kind of thing is compliant here. Sometimes, if the genius they bring isn't entirely suitable for their own Academy, those who brought them will even specifically help them find a suitable Academy for Assessment.
On the other hand, her words were wrong from the start. Xu Yan's intention was the Cultivation Department, not the Combat Department. Since her rhetoric was flawed from the beginning, how much threat could it pose?
Of course, the most crucial point was that he recognized the person opposite him: she was a newly added member of the First Academy's School Team this year, and he couldn't beat her.
Seeing Zhao Xuan's lack of reaction, Lu Qinghua sighed in relief.
She knew that what she did was slightly unethical, but she genuinely felt that Xu Yan was more suited for the First Academy. Her younger brother had finally found a friend he truly wanted to connect with, and driven by her protective affection, she hoped Xu Yan could develop better, which led her to speak up.
After finishing her speech, she took Su Yao and Lu Ming to find an empty spot nearby, waiting for the Assessment time to arrive.
While Lu Qinghua was speaking, Xu Yan clearly sensed two other gazes directed toward him, carrying obvious goodwill, though they ultimately did not approach the two of them.
Zhao Xuan, who also felt those two gazes, smiled and explained, “After the Beast Tide ends, besides checking their respective areas, they naturally look at other directions to see if there are any promising talents.”
“The two just now, one is from the Fourth Academy, and the other is from the Seventh Academy. Tsk, the Fourth Academy is fine; they specialize in Support and Healing Departments as their Ace Major, so it's normal for them to be interested in your Shadow Light Spider, which can fight, support, and heal. But what's up with the group of PY Freaks from the Seventh Academy?”