87: We do not oppose mentors dating.

When Xie Ning stepped out of the circular mirror, he attracted the stunned gazes of everyone.

He nodded to Lu Bingyun and the others with a slight smile, then stood to the side, waiting for the others to appear.

As for those who had already lost, they left Lingnan Academy dejectedly; as soon as they stepped out of the school gate, they were intercepted by people from Lingbei Academy. After some communication, they could be seen boarding Lingbei Academy's vehicles in the distance.

This scene made Xie Ning very curious.

What exactly was the relationship between Lingnan Academy and Lingbei Academy? Why would they allow the other side to poach people from their school?

Ten minutes later, several lines of text appeared on the circular mirror one after another, greatly exceeding Xie Ning's expectations.

[Silver Token Recipient: Tiger Zhao]

[Bronze Token Recipient: Su Qin]

[Iron...]

As the rankings appeared, the figures of several people also walked out of the circular mirror.

Among them, Tiger Zhao, who held the Silver Token, was actually the dreadlocked youth who had been knocked unconscious earlier. He hadn't been considered a failure after fainting; instead, he had successfully completed the challenge and secured second place.

Tiger Zhao stared at Xie Ning, his eyes full of rage, but he didn't lash out. He only gave a cold snort, his mouth forming five words: 'You just you wait.'

To this, Xie Ning simply shrugged.

However, the timid youth who followed, holding a Bronze Token, also left Xie Ning quite surprised.

Truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover.

After a while, other successful challengers ranked outside the top five also began to appear.

At this moment, a beautiful middle-aged woman appeared on the stage, nodding with satisfaction as she looked at the group of young men and women before her.

"Very good. Top five recipients, remember to find time to go to the Miscellaneous Courtyard to collect your rewards. Next, it's time for your reverse selection."

Hearing this, the thousands of registered students watching below all showed envious expressions, but they couldn't say anything because these were results earned through others' hard work.

As soon as the beautiful woman finished speaking, more than twenty mentors from Lingnan Academy walked out of the three-story pavilion. Each of them exuded a powerful Aura, drawing the attention of all the examinees.

"Hey! Look, there's a beauty among the mentors. She looks so young, only a few years older than us. So impressive... I hope I get chosen by her."

"Brother, take my advice, don't ruin your career. Everyone in Lingnan City knows that she's the most unreliable mentor."

"Exactly. I don't know how someone like that can stay in the academy. Isn't there any performance review? Or does she just have no self-awareness?"

"Shh~ keep it down. Besides, why worry about it? It's not like you're the one choosing."

"Damn! That's rubbing salt in the wound!"

Walking at the very edge of the group was Yan Ruyu.

Xie Ning noticed her as soon as she appeared, and he nodded to her when she looked over.

Xie Ning also heard the comments around him. He hadn't expected that Yan Ruyu's negative reputation had actually spread throughout the entire Lingnan City.

Besides Yan Ruyu, there was another person worth noting: a handsome middle-aged man in the center, surrounded by several mentors. This man bore some resemblance to Mu Tian and Mu Xiaolong, clearly being closely related to them.

He also noticed Xie Ning and nodded to him appreciatively.

Xie Ning was momentarily stunned, then returned the smile.

After these mentors sat down on the stage, a simple introduction appeared in front of each of them.

As the selection began, three or four people headed straight for the handsome man, making the other mentors envious. However, other mentors soon began to recruit students into their teams as well, with only Yan Ruyu's side remaining unvisited.

Finally, a student who was clearly from out of town and likely hadn't heard of Yan Ruyu's reputation saw how beautiful she was and stepped forward. But after a few steps, upon seeing Yan Ruyu's introduction, he left with an embarrassed expression.

This immediately made more students curious.

What exactly was written on that introduction?

Yan Ruyu had no reaction to this, her face expressionless and calm like a still well, not even glancing at anyone.

Soon, most of the successful candidates had made their choices, with the handsome man named Mu Changfeng, who stood in front of Mu Tian, being the most popular.

Only Xie Ning and a short youth named Su Qin remained unselected on the field.

"Students, it's your turn," the beautiful middle-aged woman reminded the two.

Hearing this, the students who were starting to feel bored perked up, their hearts skipping a beat. They all wanted to know who this guy, who had easily won the champion, would choose as his mentor.

But before Xie Ning could reply, a mentor spoke up first.

"Student Xie Ning, I am Li Wen, a mentor for the Beginner Class. I'm not only skilled in Demon Tamers Beast combat but also proficient in Ancient Martial Arts. I welcome you to join our class, and I will personally teach you Ancient Martial Arts."

"Student Xie Ning, I am Mentor Zhang Zhen. Our class has a male-to-female ratio of 2:8, and the female students are all single. Consider it, Student Xie Ning. Besides, how can Ancient Martial Arts compare to gentle and lovely female students?"

"With no women in the heart, Ancient Martial Arts will naturally be divine!"

"What use is Ancient Martial Arts? Girls are the eternal, gentle gods!"

"..."

As they spoke, several more mentors joined in, bickering while not forgetting to extend an olive branch to Xie Ning.

As for the students watching below, they were already dumbfounded, their jaws dropping and hearts racing—not out of joy or jealousy, but purely from the shock.

A group of mentors fighting over one student—who would believe it?

Even using girls as bargaining chips—Mentor Zhang Zhen, where is your shame? Where is your teaching ethics? If you've got the guts, throw that bargaining chip at me!

"This... can someone tell me who that guy is?"

"Xie Ning? Could it be... let me check..." A student did a quick search on the name and his eyes suddenly widened. "Good lord! I know who he is now! He's our Top Scholar!"

"You mean that show-off who's clearly an Intermediate Cultivator but is stealing the spotlight from Demon Tamers?"

"Damn! It's actually him! No wonder. Who could resist meeting the guy who turned the tide of the war single-handedly?"

"Why is Mentor Mu Changfeng still so calm? Go grab him! Get him into your camp!" Some students were already getting anxious on behalf of the handsome man.

But without exception, no one mentioned Yan Ruyu. At this critical juncture, no one thought Yan Ruyu should be involved.

With several exclamations, everyone recognized Xie Ning. After all, only a few days had passed since the events in Flower City. People might have faded memories, but they hadn't forgotten; it only took a few key pieces of information to recall.

Just when they thought they were shocked enough, several mentors from the Nurturing Academy squeezed in.

Ignoring the Demon Tamer mentors who were almost coming to blows, they rushed in front of Xie Ning and grabbed him.

"Student Xie Ning, come to our Nurturing Academy. You can pick any class and any mentor you want."

"We also have beautiful mentors who are not only good-looking and have great figures but are also from Ancient Martial Arts families. Whatever conditions they offer here, we have them too, and they're no worse than what these boorish fellows are offering!"

"Exactly, exactly..."

Before they could finish, the Demon Tamer mentors immediately exploded.

"You guys usually act so refined; do you have no shame now?"

"Coming to our Demon Tamer territory to poach people—do you want a fight? If the Ruan Family finds out you're using their princess as a bargaining chip like this, they'll surely break your legs!"

The students below, who had just managed to pick up their jaws, dropped them again, their eyes bulging as if they were seeing monsters.

Someone save us! Our hearts can't take this!

It's going to explode! I'm going to faint!

Perhaps the heavens heard their prayers; the next second, an old and majestic voice came from above:

"This is all nonsense! Let go of him!"

Hearing this voice, the mentors from the Nurturing Academy were startled and reflexively let go of Xie Ning's hand, standing up straight.

Even the mentors of the Monster Taming Academy, including Yan Ruyu, all stood up one after another.

Under the gaze of many students, a white-robed old man slowly descended from the air, his face solemn.

Although he didn't display his Aura, his authoritative presence still caused the entire scene to fall silent.

"S-sorry, Dean, we just got a bit excited."

"Yes, yes..."

Compared to the cautious looks of the Nurturing Academy mentors, those from the Monster Taming Academy fared better, but they still bowed respectfully:

"Greetings, Vice Dean!"

Lingnan Academy had one Dean and three Vice Deans. One of them was the majestic old man before them, who was in charge of the Nurturing Academy.

"Mm." The Vice Dean nodded, looked at the Nurturing Academy mentors, and after a long pause, gave a heavy snort. "Running to the Monster Taming Academy to poach someone to be a student? Letting an Intermediate Cultivator be a student? How do you even dare to claim credit for such performance?!"

Hearing this, the Nurturing mentors lowered their heads, full of guilt and regret, clearly realizing their mistake. The mentors of the Monster Taming Academy all breathed a collective sigh of relief, fearing that Xie Ning would be poached from their territory, which would have been a huge embarrassment.

The trembling hearts of the students below also settled down slightly, and they looked at the Vice Dean with admiration.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the Vice Dean looked at Xie Ning with a kind face:

"Young friend Xie Ning, are you interested in coming to the Nurturing Academy to have some fun? I'll let you be a teacher. It's also fine for you to have more contact with the little girl from the Ruan Family; we don't oppose mentors dating."

Thump!

Thump!

Thump... Countless students below fainted, in desperate need of Fast-acting Heart-saving Pills.