C1 Pay Attention to It in Your next Life

"Why are you doing this?"

"Yeah, on what grounds?"

"This is Everdawn Academy's turf, and you have no right to be here!"

"Looking for trouble in the wrong place!"

"You're really pushing your luck!"

"Think the nine great academies are so impressive?"

"This is outrageous!"

...

Despite the clamor, Cai Qitian of Wyvernwood Academy's enrollment office remained unfazed.

Let them make a fuss!

How long can they keep this up?

Once the Academy Grand Tournament is over, Everdawn Academy will cease to exist. You'll be begging to join Wyvernwood Academy.

Then, we'll have to think about whether we even want to accept you.

"Cough, cough!"

Cai Qitian cleared his throat and brandished the enrollment form, addressing the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen..."

"Our Wyvernwood Academy has your best interests at heart. That's precisely why we've taken the initiative to pass a resolution to recruit you Cyborgs ahead of time."

"This is an immense honor!"

"If you agree to join Wyvernwood Academy now, you'll be the very first group of Cyborgs to be admitted into any of the nine great academies."

"The status you'll enjoy with us is far superior to what you'd have if you came begging after Everdawn Academy disappears following the Academy Grand Tournament..."

"How dare you say Everdawn Academy will disappear!"

"That's right!"

"We're going to win this time!"

The students' loud protests were a swift rebuttal to Cai Qitian, who couldn't help but chuckle at their defiance, shaking his head in amused derision.

"Everdawn Academy has been around for 138 years. Have you ever beaten any of the nine great academies?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

...

Silence fell upon the Everdawn Academy students. They might not have been the first to enroll, but they were acutely aware—

There's a vast, unbridgeable chasm between Cyborgs and cultivators.

This year, the cultivators were finally taking action against the Cyborgs, compelling Everdawn Academy to outperform one of the nine great academies in the Academy Grand Tournament or face dissolution.

But after 138 years under the cultivators' heel, what chance did they have for change this year?

Cai Qitian watched as the crowd sank into silence, quite pleased with the effect his words had.

Wyvernwood Academy seized the opportunity to recruit a group of Cyborgs ahead of the curve. This strategic move would ensure they had ample expendable forces once other academies began their recruitment drives.

Rumor had it that the authorities were offering a substantial coaching fee to the nine great academies for each Cyborg enrolled.

The official documents had yet to be circulated, but Wyvernwood Academy had already gotten wind of the news. Otherwise, Cai Qitian wouldn't have bothered engaging with these individuals.

It was a drain on his time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I assure you, I have your best interests at heart. Opportunities like this are rare. I've got the enrollment forms right here..."

"Whoosh!"

Abruptly, a whistling sound cut through the air. Cai Qitian's sentence was left unfinished as his right hand quivered.

Upon closer inspection, his face paled. A fist-sized hole had appeared in the center of the thick stack of forms, with remnants of spiritual energy still evident.

He hadn't detected the assailant beforehand, which meant the attacker was of a higher level.

While Everdawn Academy primarily admitted Cyborgs, it also employed cultivator instructors. Yet...

It seemed only Faang Zhengyi, the founder and current principal of Everdawn Academy, could execute such a stealthy, long-range strike.

He was reputed to be a formidable eighth-level Spirit's Awakening practitioner.

To the nine great academies, however, Faang Zhengyi was nothing more than a traitor.

The goal of this year's Academy Grand Tournament was to ensure the complete eradication of this eyesore of a traitor. The sooner he was gone, the better.

Cai Qitian narrowed his eyes, fully aware that his Alpha Dawn eighth-level prowess was sufficient to handle these youngsters, but not enough to confront Faang Zhengyi.

He tempered his emotions and cast his gaze skyward, his voice booming:

"Mr. Faang, I've come in good faith this time. Your actions are an affront to the nine great academies."

"Isn't this a bit excessive?"

"The one being excessive is you!"

The retort didn't come from above but from the back of the crowd, where a young voice emerged.

"Besides, when you beat a dog, you should look at its owner. We've clearly shown you respect, yet here you are, barking away. Tell me, who's really being excessive?"

Cai Qitian was left speechless by his anger, but the students around him seemed to have found their backbone, their spirits visibly lifting.

"Faang Wei!"

"It's Faang Wei!"

"Fantastic!"

...

"You jerk... Who are you!"

He had been about to call him a bastard, but then he remembered the stack of recruitment forms and decided to tread carefully.

"Faang Wei, the son of Faang Zhengyi."

"Heh!"

At that, Cai Qitian's tension melted away.

The son of Faang Zhengyi was a well-known secret of the No. 57 Moonshadow Lands. Poisoned at the age of seven, he had to replace his entire body with artificial limbs, effectively ending his path as a cultivator.

By sixteen, he began training in Internal Energy at Everdawn Academy, and now at eighteen, it was clear that the recent attack infused with spiritual energy couldn't have been his doing.

He simply couldn't absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth to convert into his own. While Internal Energy had its offensive uses, it was no match for true spiritual energy.

Was this kid just spouting nonsense?

"Kid, your first option is to apologize to me today, and I'll let you off the hook."

"Your second option is that you..."

"I'll take the second option."

Cai Qitian hadn't even finished speaking when Faang Wei interrupted him. The students around them were taken aback, some murmuring among themselves.

"Can Faang Wei really beat that guy?"

"Did you forget about that hole just now? It must've been the principal helping him secretly."

"Oh, right!"

"Now I feel relieved."

...

The students' whispers didn't escape Cai Qitian's ears. He scoffed and looked around disdainfully.

"Is this the spirit of Everdawn Academy? Hiding their faces, only daring to strike from the shadows!"

"What a laugh..."

But mid-taunt, Cai Qitian suddenly froze, his right hand pointing skyward, his step forward awkward and comical.

"What was that you said? I didn't catch it."

Faang Wei deliberately leaned in closer to Cai Qitian.

Cai Qitian felt a maddening itch in his teeth as Faang Wei grinned at him, but he was completely immobilized, unable to muster even a flicker of spiritual energy.

His eyes seemed ready to burst with fury!

"Boring."

Faang Wei lost interest upon seeing Cai Qitian's frustrated state and gestured dismissively to the others.

"Let's go back. Leave him be."

It was only after the crowd had dispersed that Faang Wei casually flicked his wrist, and in an instant, Cai Qitian felt his mobility return.

Rage surged through him. He vowed to make Faang Wei pay dearly today!

But as he stepped through the gates of Everdawn Academy, Cai Qitian found himself frozen in place once again!

More frightening still was the approaching figure of Faang Wei, devoid of any prior mirth, his eyes emanating a chilling coldness. His words cut through the air.

"This isn't where you belong. Remember that in your next life..."