"I wanted to ask you if you want to form an alliance with me first?"
Seeing that she was truly fine, Chu Tianle repeated his earlier question.
"Look, I'm alone, and you're alone. If we team up, we won't need to find teammates for those two-person battles later."
After Chu Tianle's rapid-fire explanation, he saw Bai Shengyi looking bewildered and couldn't help but exclaim, "No way, didn't the Bai family tell you the specific details of this assessment?"
Bai Shengyi shook her head.
Just then, the middle-aged man in blue robes standing at the center of the deck suddenly announced, "Everyone, use your recommendation tickets to go to your cabins inside the ship to rest. A friendly reminder that there are over twenty-eight thousand recommendation tickets for the Great Ning Dynasty. This ship has five thousand cabins. We will reach the assessment destination in three days."
"Hurry!"
Bai Shengyi and Chu Tianle exchanged glances and spoke in unison.
Only Golden Core cultivators could forgo eating. Most of the participants on the ship were currently at the Qi Refining stage. Not only did they need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, but they also required adequate rest. If they couldn't secure a cabin, they would have to stay on the deck.
Although the weather was good and the view from the deck was pleasant, if it started to rain, blow wind, or thunder, the deck would become a disaster scene.
To participate in the assessment in the best possible condition, they had to secure a room.
Bai Shengyi and Chu Tianle reached an agreement. After quickly handing their recommendation tickets to the middle-aged man for inspection, they hurried into the ship's cabins.
Meanwhile, inside the cabins on the uppermost deck.
A man in red, wearing a mask, leaned nonchalantly against a powerful Xuanjing Tiger, using the fierce beast as a mere chair. Below him, a group of people sat in a circle around a long table.
Five smooth Shadow Reflection Mirrors were placed directly opposite the man in red, relaying various scenes from the new student activities in real-time.
"Vice Dean, isn't opening only five thousand rooms a bit too few?" the long-faced middle-aged woman asked sharply. Every time she spoke, it made many people want to cover their ears.
However, this time, her opinion clearly garnered considerable agreement.
The man sitting next to her, with his hair obscuring half his face, also frowned. "Indeed, we still have to pass through the Lei Hai Mountain later. If we injure these promising talents, it will be a loss outweighing the gain."
"Senior Brother Huaye and Junior Sister Yunying are correct. Vice Dean, why don't we activate the ship's third-tier defense system?" Wen Jiuyin suggested. "After all, in previous years, these children only started the assessment upon reaching the destination."
With the three of them speaking up, the remaining individuals also expressed their views, feeling that this year's rules were somewhat stringent.
Not only were there several additional rounds of assessment, but the final destination was also more dangerous than in previous years.
However, no matter what the people around the long table said, the man in red leaning against the Xuanjing Tiger still appeared indifferent, even having the mood to casually stroke the fluffy fur on the Xuanjing Tiger's head.
"Vice Dean, what do you think?" Yunying was extremely annoyed by his perfunctory attitude and couldn't understand why the academy had appointed him to be in charge of this year's freshman assessment.
A mere brat who hadn't cultivated for thirty years, what real skill could he possess! His cultivation might even be from popping pills.
The Vice Dean was startled by Yunying's piercing voice and subconsciously tugged hard at the fur on the Xuanjing Tiger's forehead.
"Gosh... Roar!" If it weren't for considering his master's reputation, the Xuanjing Tiger would have almost uttered an expletive.
The Vice Dean patted the Xuanjing Tiger, casually ruffling the large cat's fur, before finally shifting his gaze from the Shadow Reflection Mirror. That woman was not foolish; she had reacted so quickly.
"Vice Dean!" Yunying stood up, raising her voice, making it even more piercing.
The Vice Dean frowned. "Yunying, lower your voice, you'll scare the Xuanjing Tiger."
The Xuanjing Tiger impatiently flicked its tail and impatiently looked up at Yunying.
Faced with the furious glare of a ninth-tier demonic beast, Yunying involuntarily trembled and quickly lowered her voice, "We all believe this assessment is too difficult and think we can relax some of the requirements."
"Alright."
The Vice Dean agreed casually.
Before Yunying could feel joy, she heard him say again, "Then, when those people above ask why our academy's students are getting worse with each graduating class, will you answer them?"
Yunying was instantly so frightened that her mind faltered, and she slumped onto her chair. "I... Vice Dean..."
"You all too."
The Vice Dean ignored her, curled his lips, and said with a touch of malice to the others, "Anyone who is dissatisfied with the entire assessment can voice it, as long as they are willing to receive those people next time."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone quickly shook their head. "Vice Dean, we have no objections!"
"I think the assessment designed by the Vice Dean this time is very reasonable!"
...
Everyone vied to nod in agreement. Huaye and Wen Jiuyin exchanged glances and reluctantly echoed their sentiments.
Despite the Vice Dean's young age, his foresight surpassed theirs. Indeed, if they relaxed the assessment for these children now, it would actually harm them.
"Since there are no objections, you may leave. Wen Jiuyin, call Mu Xing in; I have something to instruct him." The Vice Dean unceremoniously dismissed them. The Xuanjing Tiger cooperatively shook its large head impatiently.
Everyone took their leave.
"Such arrogance from a mere youngster!" As soon as Yunying exited the room, she complained indignantly to Huaye, "If it weren't for the Dean going crazy this year and directly appointing him as Vice Dean, bypassing us, how could he possibly stand here and dictate to us!"
"Junior Sister, don't be angry. The Vice Dean is also doing this for the children's own good," a Golden Core cultivator advised.
But his advice only made Yunying angrier. "Who isn't doing this for these promising talents! As if without him, these promising talents would be ruined..."
Seeing Yunying storm off, Huaye said helplessly, "You can advise her, but bringing up the Vice Dean will only make her angrier."
"It's not entirely Yunying's fault for being angry. We still don't know who this Vice Dean really is, and he's so young. How can he shoulder such a great responsibility?" The Golden Core cultivator shook his head and also left.
Bai Shengyi and the others were unaware of the events unfolding on the uppermost deck.
At this moment, Bai Shengyi was examining the room she and Chu Tianle had managed to snag, looking like a country bumpkin.
Because they were quick and close, they secured Room 3. As soon as she stepped inside, Bai Shengyi was astonished by the luxurious decor.
The floor was paved with gold, the walls were silver-plated, decorated with deep-sea white pearls. The lighting was provided by the beast cores of fourth-tier fire element demonic beasts. The table was piled with low-grade spirit stones and spirit fruits, and there were many mid-grade spirit stones fixed in place on the ground.
"It's actually a small spirit gathering formation!" Chu Tianle exclaimed, looking at the position of the mid-grade spirit stones. "This room was definitely worth fighting for! I wonder if other rooms are like this too. Shenqi Academy is really generous!"
Because the room was a one-bedroom, one-living-room layout, it could fully accommodate two people. After discussing, Bai Shengyi and Chu Tianle decided not to claim any other rooms.
She and Chu Tianle counted separately: there were twenty-five mid-grade spirit stones and one hundred low-grade spirit stones.
"This should be for our cultivation. We'll split the low-grade spirit stones equally. We can use the spirit gathering formation here together. What do you think?" Bai Shengyi proposed.
Chu Tianle had no objections. "I'll sleep in the living room outside, and you take the room inside."
The inside had more space and fewer clutter, making it more suitable for Bai Shengyi, whose eyesight was inconvenient.
Bai Shengyi glanced at Chu Tianle and did not refuse.
"Bai Shengyi, are we teammates now?" Chu Tianle suddenly asked.
Bai Shengyi smiled and nodded. "Of course. I'll count on your guidance in the future, teammate Chu."
Chu Tianle couldn't help but laugh heartily. "You too, teammate Bai."
The two quickly settled in and, without wasting any time, sat beside the spirit gathering formation to begin their cultivation.