Chapter Fifty-Six: The Unexpected Arrival of the Fire Dance

After reaching an agreement with Qian Renxue, she quickly got up and left. After all, her public identity was that of the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. If the crown prince were to be absent for too long, not only the sharp-minded Ning Fengzhi, but even Emperor Xue Ye himself would grow suspicious.

Upon returning to his sect, Xiao Yu immediately began preparations for establishing the academy. With Xue Qinghe’s protection, the officials of the Sylvia Kingdom dared not make things difficult for him. A prime piece of land, over a thousand acres in size, scenic and secluded, was promptly allocated to Xiao Yu.

After forming business ties with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan, Xiao Yu no longer worried about funding. Upon acquiring the land, he allocated twenty million gold soul coins to the construction of the academy.

The development of the academy was a long-term endeavor. More importantly, Xiao Yu intended to absorb talented students, those without any powerful backing, into the Nine Stars Hall, and to achieve this, he needed the students to develop a sense of belonging to the academy. He could not follow Flender’s example of “reaping without sowing,” where students were given laissez-faire education—if they succeeded, it was credited to the academy; if not, well, they simply weren’t considered graduates.

With a massive investment, simulation training grounds, soul battle arenas, and various cultivation facilities were rapidly established. Even the student cafeteria and dormitories were constructed lavishly; Xiao Yu spared no expense, determined to make everything the best it could be.

For the administration, Xiao Yu appointed Mu as the headmaster, while the meticulous and strict Xuanwu became the director of education, responsible for the academy’s daily operations.

As for the curriculum, Xiao Yu modeled it after the Shrek Academy of the second Douluo era, creating both inner and outer divisions. The outer division was split into six grades, with biannual assessments; students could advance a grade upon passing. Those who broke through to the Soul Sect level before the age of twenty were eligible for the inner division’s assessment. In the first Douluo world, for a nineteen- or twenty-year-old to reach Soul King was considered the “Golden Generation,” and a level forty soul power requirement by twenty was already exceedingly strict.

The inner division served as a cradle for the sect’s elite. There were no systematic courses; most of the training was practical. The sect posted missions as if hiring mercenaries, and students could choose which to take on. Of course, given the risk of these missions, the sect’s resources were heavily tilted toward the inner division—high-level soul tools, premium elixirs, even soul bones.

The inner division’s program lasted three years. Upon completing this period and meeting the requirements, students could graduate. During their inner division years or at graduation, the sect would try to persuade outstanding students to join the Nine Stars Hall.

If an inner division student was unwilling to join, the sect would not force them—the principle was voluntary participation. Xiao Yu did not want the sect filled with people who obeyed in word but not in heart, who would flee or even betray at the first sign of crisis.

Moreover, even students who didn’t join the Nine Stars Hall would still remember the academy fondly. For a soul master, academy life was among the most cherished memories. In the future, if the Nine Stars Hall ever truly needed help, Xiao Yu believed that many alumni would come to support them, even if they weren’t sect members.

Just as in the original work, during the continental war that broke out after the collision of the Sun Moon Continent and Douluo Continent, when the headmaster of Shrek Academy called out, nearly sixty titled Douluo from across the land responded—unquestionably, these were all outstanding alumni of Shrek.

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Half a year later, Nine Stars Academy was officially founded and began to enroll students.

During these six months, Xue Qinghe and other major business partners from the Nine Stars Hall, including the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan, spared no effort in providing free publicity for the academy. Ye Renxin and Yang Wudi, who had joined the Nine Stars Hall, fully leveraged their connections, writing letters to their friends and sincerely inviting their juniors to enroll at Nine Stars Academy.

Ye Renxin was the foremost healer on the Douluo Continent; many powerful individuals had benefited from his skills and responded with letters saying they would consider sending their outstanding young ones. Yang Wudi’s closest friends were, of course, the leaders of the Strength, Defense, and Agility clans. Besides the loyal Tang family servant, Titan, the other two clan heads—Niu Gao and Bai He—immediately agreed to send their eligible juniors to apply.

The Agility clan, in particular, had struggled the most since leaving the Clear Sky School. Lacking offensive ability, they found it hard to make a living and, being proud by nature, were reluctant to join other soul master sects. This made them the most destitute among the four single-attribute clans, often relying on the others for help—especially the Breaking clan, who provided the most support.

Now that Yang Wudi had a favor to ask, Bai He was eager to help, vowing to send all outstanding juniors of the Agility clan to Nine Stars Academy every year. Moved, Yang Wudi decided to lend the Agility clan another hand, and Xiao Yu, with tears in his eyes, practically gave away a batch of close-combat soul tools to the Agility clan at an almost loss-making price.

Even Dugu Bo wanted to help, but given his unpredictable temperament, he honestly couldn’t think of many friends to invite.

With support from all sides, the first day of enrollment saw a steady stream of applicants drawn by the academy’s reputation. Lines stretched from the academy gates like a winding dragon, disappearing into the distance.

“Brother Xiao Yu, this is wonderful! There are even more applicants than we imagined!”

Inside the academy, Ye Lingling’s face was alight with excitement. She knew how much effort Xiao Yu had poured into this and felt genuine happiness for him.

Xiao Yu was delighted as well. Although he had prepared thoroughly, he still feared unexpected issues. Now, seeing the smooth enrollment process and the endless flow of applicants, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

If not for the sudden appearance of a certain figure before him, Xiao Yu’s mood would have remained excellent all day.

“What are you doing here?”

Xiao Yu frowned, staring at the figure before him.

Huo Wu pursed her lips, unconcerned. “Why can’t I be here? Nine Stars Academy is open to both commoners and nobles. What’s wrong with me coming to apply?”

Xiao Yu was speechless for a moment before finally responding, “That may be true, but you’re the daughter of the head of Blazing Academy. Instead of attending your own academy, you’ve traveled all this way to mine—does that make any sense?”

“Why do you care?” Huo Wu rolled her eyes at Xiao Yu. “Where I study is my choice. Who says the daughter of Blazing Academy’s head must attend Blazing Academy? Can’t I just want a change of environment?”

Xiao Yu could only shake his head helplessly. “Stop being difficult and go home. If your family finds out, they’ll think I’ve abducted an innocent girl and come looking for trouble.”

“Pfft! Who are you calling an innocent girl?” Huo Wu’s pretty face flushed as she spat at Xiao Yu. “I’m applying perfectly legitimately. I meet every one of your academy’s admission criteria. If you dare kick me out, I’ll loudly accuse the academy of cheating and discriminating against qualified applicants. I’d like to see how you handle that!”

“You—” Xiao Yu was momentarily choked with anger. Huo Wu had clearly found his weak spot. It was the first day of enrollment; if she really made a scene, it would seriously affect the academy’s reputation and subsequent enrollment.

“Brother Xiao Yu, just let her stay!” Ye Lingling gently tugged at his sleeve, though she wasn’t keen on Huo Wu staying either. “If she causes a stir, it’d be disastrous for our enrollment. Besides, she’s the daughter of Blazing Academy’s head; if she really wants to make trouble, we couldn’t stop her even if we tried.”

Xiao Yu nodded helplessly, thinking that with Blazing Academy’s status in the Heaven Dou Empire, her family would soon get word and come fetch her themselves.