85: Do you prefer to be proactive or passive?
After Mu Xiaolong was taken away, order was restored to the scene, but the way the surrounding people looked at Xie Ning's group had changed.
From Mu Tian's reaction just now, it was clear that Xie Ning was no ordinary student. Furthermore, those three Girls were not only beautiful but also had connections within the academy.
At this time, Xie Ning chatted with the short boy, but unfortunately, after a few sentences, the other party remained timid and submissive, making him feel a bit bored.
After waiting a while longer, as the academy gates opened, the crowd filed in. The noisy area outside the school gates became empty in an instant.
Following the guidance, the crowd arrived at the training ground within Lingnan Academy.
This training ground was much larger than a gymnasium in Flower City, enough to accommodate thousands of students training simultaneously without interfering with each other.
“Master, I'm going over to register first,” Mo Yu said.
Xie Ning nodded, and then saw Mo Yu squeeze through the crowd and head in another direction, quickly disappearing from sight. Looking in the direction Mo Yu went, he could see that the number of people queuing there was very small, probably only about a hundred or so.
That should be the enrollment office for the Nurturing Academy.
Lingnan Academy is divided into three areas: the Monster Taming Academy, the Nurturing Academy, and the Miscellaneous Courtyard. The first two are two different academies, while the final Miscellaneous Courtyard is responsible for various academy matters, including the mission board, the library, and other trivial affairs.
Among them, the Monster Taming Academy has the largest number of people and covers the largest area. It is even said that the ratio of students between the Monster Taming Academy and the Nurturing Academy reaches a terrifying 9:1. Xie Ning didn't believe it before, but now looking at the contrast in the number of people queuing on both sides, he was starting to believe it.
The queues for the Monster Taming Academy were divided into several rows and moved very quickly. Each person could finish registration in just a few seconds, and the process was not complicated: show your ID card, verify your College Entrance Examination score, and choose your registration mode.
Finally, the queue reached Xie Ning. He took out his ID card and swiped it. With a beep, the senior sister sitting in front processing his enrollment stared wide-eyed at the displayed information. Her small mouth hung slightly open, making one want to stuff a cherry in. She looked at the data, then at Xie Ning, repeating this several times.
The other students didn't know what she saw, but those behind Xie Ning were growing impatient, wanting to urge her on but fearing they might offend someone as soon as they arrived.
Xie Ning smiled slightly and said, “Senior sister, can I pass now? The students behind me are still waiting.”
“Yes, yes...” The senior sister snapped out of it, her nimble hands operating the system for a moment. She gave a sweet smile, blinked her big eyes, and asked, “Student Xie Ning, may I ask if you prefer active or passive?”
Xie Ning: “???”
A large portion of the students waiting in line turned to stone.
Are Girls so proactive nowadays? Do boys need to protect themselves better?
Xie Ning was silent for two seconds.
“Junior Xie Ning, you haven't answered me yet. Are you active or passive?” the senior sister pressed.
“...” Xie Ning was silent for another two seconds, his expression strange. “I suppose... passive? But does this have anything to do with enrollment?”
“How can it not? I need to know if you choose active or pas—”
Before the senior sister could finish, a senior brother in the next row who couldn't watch any longer pushed her aside with a palm. “Student, I'm truly sorry. What she meant to ask was whether you want to choose the Passive Selection Mode for entering Lingnan Academy, or participate in the Active Trial.”
Hearing this, Xie Ning breathed a sigh of relief and asked curiously, “What is the difference between the two?”
“Passive Selection means you're done after registering. You wait for the academy mentors to choose people for their classes, and you cannot refuse. The Active Trial has both difficulty and benefits; you participate in a trial, and if you pass, you can choose your mentor in reverse. The top five also get rewards, but if you fail... you won't be admitted.”
After listening to the senior brother, Xie Ning realized the situation and said, “Then I choose the Active Trial.”
“Are you sure?”
“I'm sure.”
Soon, Xie Ning got his ID card back, along with a purple scroll that also functioned as a teleportation device.
In less than an hour, all students had finished registration. There were about eighty people with purple scrolls. They came before a round mirror, surrounded by the students who had already registered.
For a moment, many students under the spotlight were either proud or couldn't hide their joy.
Among them were five men and women who looked seventy to eighty percent similar, perhaps quintuplets. They were whispering to each other, pointing at this person and looking at that one from time to time.
In contrast, Xie Ning appeared much more composed, standing there with no visible joy or sorrow on his face. What surprised him was that the timid short boy he had seen earlier had actually chosen to participate in the Active Trial as well.
Compared to the high-spirited and eager look of the other participants, he seemed much weaker. Standing next to Xie Ning, his frame of less than 1.5 meters was trembling slightly.
“You are very brave,” Xie Ning said softly.
The boy replied, “Th-thank you...”
Soon, the round mirror emitted a faint light, forming a light gray vortex, and several people filed in.
Watching Xie Ning disappear into the round mirror, Mu Tian smiled bitterly among the crowd.
“Now, my teacher's plan has fallen through...” After saying that, he walked toward a three-story building at one end of the square. What the other candidates didn't know was that this three-story building was the pavilion used by mentors to observe their performance, and Mu Tian's mentor happened to be inside.
When Xie Ning reappeared, he was standing on a square platform. Three sides were suspended in mid-air, with only multiple bluestone paths in front, each two meters wide, leading to a towering mountain at the end.
Just as everyone was feeling the novelty of it all, a deep and powerful elderly voice rang out:
“Rule One: No killing. Rule Two: The one who reaches the top wins. Rule Three: No flying. Time limit: 60 minutes. The trial begins!”
As soon as the voice fell, several students immediately jumped onto the bluestone paths and ran forward at high speed.
The others were half a beat slower, following closely behind.
“Hey, be careful yourself, I'm going ahead.” After saying that, Xie Ning didn't bother picking a path and ran directly toward the middle one.
The boy also clenched his fists and followed closely, cautiously trailing behind the others.
On the bluestone paths, everyone tacitly avoided attacking each other. Aside from occasional collisions, everyone was burying their heads and charging forward.
Finally, someone ran off the bluestone bridge first. He turned his head, revealing a malicious smile.
“Storm Eagle Ghost, use Yin Wind, blow them over!”
Beside him, a hazy gray-black giant eagle stood on the ground flapping its wings, whipping up a black storm. Before the storm could even form, a vine lashed out, scaring him into running away.
The others also reached the foot of the mountain one after another at this time, and the fighting began to increase.
Even Xie Ning encountered several attacks one after another. But unlike the others who summoned Demon Tamers Beasts to fight, Xie Ning charged straight in, swinging his fists. With a flurry of punches, he knocked over the Demon Tamers Beasts and beat the opponents until their faces were bloody and a mess.
Seeing Xie Ning so fierce, the others didn't dare to approach for a while, only obstructing others while striving to climb upward.
In just over ten minutes, a third of the participants had been defeated, and the remaining people were still working hard.
What Xie Ning didn't expect was that the short boy actually hadn't lost yet. He was currently trailing at the very back of the group, using all four limbs to climb up with effort. Beside him, a kitten glowing with golden light was meowing anxiously, seemingly urging the boy to speed up.