"Don't display your ignorance at a time like this." Xiao Xiao lowered his eyelids and refocused on his notebook, seeing Zheng Qing's bewildered expression.
"To know what you know, and to know what you don't know, that is true knowledge!" Zheng Qing quickly retorted.
"But in front of other academies, you must learn to uphold the academy's honor." A stern voice came from nearby, as a thin, red-robed Senior student walked over.
His cuffs and collar had a black trim, which meant he was a second-year Senior student. Students at First University gained a black trim on their collar and cuffs for each year they advanced, signifying they were one step closer to the Registered Wizard's black robes.
The surrounding new students looked at this Senior with awe.
"Everyone, don't be too restrained, but pay attention to your image and formation." The Senior looked at them and earnestly instructed, "In front of other academies, you represent the image of Nine Provinces; each of you is Nine Provinces College. We can reveal our ignorance among ourselves, but don't flaunt your humility in front of those fellows."
Zheng Qing tightly shut his mouth, suppressing the urge to retort.
Silence is golden, silence is golden.
He turned his gaze elsewhere.
In the square, the four new student teams were clearly separated.
Nine Provinces College's red robes and Starry Sky Academy's blue robes were arranged to the left of the stone gate; Alpha's white robes and Atlas's yellow robes were gathered to the right of the stone gate.
There were no trees around the square, and the clouds in the sky had completely dispersed after the students had landed. The scorching sunlight poured uninhibitedly onto the white marble ground, and the new students' collars, which had already dried, gradually became wet with sweat again.
The Senior students had not yet fully entered the stone gate, so the new students could only wait patiently under the scorching sun.
This made Zheng Qing feel a little strange. He had thought that after the shocking incident on the special plane, the University would strengthen its efforts to comfort the new students. Not to mention emotional solace, at the very least, they should let people rest earlier.
But it seemed no one had mentioned this at all.
The line to enter was still moving at an imperceptible snail's pace.
By the time he came to his senses, the somewhat arrogant Senior student had already left. Xiao Xiao was holding his notebook, explaining the characteristics of several academies to the new students around him.
Li Meng rested her chin on her hand, sitting on her suitcase, lazily teasing Poseidon.
The little fox hid in the shadows cast by several new students, splayed out its limbs, and squinted, ignoring the foxtail grass in Li Meng's hand, only occasionally twitching its tail to indicate it was still alive.
"Alpha students are all self-important scoundrels. Many of these scoundrels are descendants of Families with thousands of years of Legacy, very skilled in the tactics of those nobles. They love to hide a dagger in a smile and put on airs, but most of them are just putting on a show." Xiao Xiao's words were very sharp, as if he had become a different person.
Zheng Qing glanced at the white-robed team in front of the right gate.
At least on the surface, there was nothing lacking in these Alpha students; on the contrary, their appearance was quite outstanding among the students of the several academies. Each one was a handsome man or beautiful woman, with elegant demeanor and reserved attitude, maintaining excellent upbringing even under the scorching sun.
"Atlas Academy's yellow robes, however, are different from Alpha's white robes. If Alpha emphasizes purity of Bloodline, then Atlas advocates purity of spirit. Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Orthodoxy, Shamanism, and so on, the students of this academy are all fanatical believers in some religion. They are all a bunch of madmen."
This statement was also quite scathing. Zheng Qing suppressed his laughter, recalling his teacher's words, 'Never discuss right or wrong with religious fanatics,' and nodded in agreement.
Not far away, Atlas Academy students stood in groups of two or three, with solemn expressions and dignified demeanor, neither whispering nor slinging their arms around each other, quietly standing in the sun, complementing the noble air of Alpha next to them, making the new students of Nine Provinces College and Starry Sky Academy seem like a scattered mess.
"The blue-robed Starry Sky Academy, completely contradicts the elegance and tranquility of that color. This academy is full of battle maniacs. Small group fights every three days, large group fights every five days, utterly barbaric. If one day Starry Sky Academy's School Hospital doesn't receive any injured, it must be because everyone is already lying in the hospital."
Xiao Xiao's evaluations of the other academies seemed to be quite sharp.
But it must be said, these evaluations had a feeling of hitting the nail on the head.
Zheng Qing thought of his interviewer, Thomas, who used Thunder Spell unscrupulously on the streets of Daming Ward, and couldn't help but sigh. He saw that in the blue team nearby, several restless new students had already lifted their blue robes and started sparring.
"I always thought our academy's red robes should swap with Starry Sky's blue robes. Don't you think the explosive feeling of red robes is more suitable for those barbarians with only muscles in their brains?" Li Meng threw down the foxtail grass in her hand, tapping her pull-rod suitcase, and grumbled, "Blue robes are so pretty, unlike these red robes, which look silly."
She shook her somewhat oversized red robe, looking a bit unhappy.
The hem of her robe fluttered, stirring up a small breeze, and Poseidon happily squeezed in, then tumbled out, covered in dust, amidst Li Meng's screams.
Zheng Qing pretended not to know that little beast.
He turned his head, looked at Xiao Xiao, and changed the subject: "I remember what the interviewer told you seemed a bit different. I remember he said Alpha valued talent, and Atlas valued faith or something."
"It's precisely because the methods of admitting students are different that it leads to differences among the students." Xiao Xiao very seriously patted his notebook.
"Alpha screens for talented students, but most talent is a gradual accumulation over a long period. This leads to many talented students growing up in Wizard Families, making Alpha Academy synonymous with Wizard Families."
"Similarly, Atlas values faith. Whose faith is the most firm and pure? Only those devout religious believers. Atlas Academy's class divisions are also different from ours; they divide classes by faith. For example, Mahayana Buddhism class, Hinayana Buddhism class, Tibetan Buddhism class, and so on. Atlas has the most classes among all academies."
"What about us? What are the characteristics of our academy? I remember our academy emphasizes exams!" Zheng Qing eagerly pressed. Several red-robed classmates gathered around also urged him on.
"Just a bunch of scholars, what characteristics could they have." Xiao Xiao was expressionless.
Driven by his expectations for the academy and his great hopes for himself, Zheng Qing immediately showed an expression of strong dissatisfaction with this answer.
No one likes to be belittled by others.
Unless they're a masochist.
Xiao Xiao continued to comment on Nine Provinces in the same tone he used for other academies, unceremoniously: "Only those without a ticket need to pass an exam to gain entry. Those scions of aristocratic families have their parents to guide them in, those religious believers have their Seniors to guide them in, and as for those battle maniacs, they came in by gambling with their lives. What about us? If we don't demonstrate our value through exams, who will care!"
"The world is so vast, why should fate favor you!"
"Therefore, as the heavens move with vigor, so must the Gentleman strive for self-improvement." A tall male student next to them interjected, somewhat disapprovingly. He extended his hand and smiled at the two, "Tang Dun, 08th grade of Nine Provinces College."
"Zheng Qing." Zheng Qing nodded, extending his hand in a friendly gesture.
He had an impression of this male student.
After the tall, black-robed, silver-haired Senior left, the new students in the square fell into a very chaotic situation. This male student actively organized the new students to line up in order, showing considerable ability.
"There is no Bloodline discrimination, but there are various great and miraculous Legacies; there are no strict shackles, but there is freedom and independence of spirit; there is no violent oppression, but everywhere is filled with Spiritual Qi, passion, and dreams." Tang Dun pointed to the teams not far away, waving his hand very forcefully: "To be precise, our academy is a great University."
Xiao Xiao put away his notebook and did not retort.
"That's very well said." Zheng Qing pondered Tang Dun's words: "But it feels like the characteristics aren't very prominent. Those qualities seem like they could fit into any other academy. Why not just put us directly into other academies?"
"Because of pride." Tang Dun's voice was very low: "The pride flowing in our Blood, the pride buried deep in our hearts, the pride etched into the depths of our Soul."
"Pride?" Zheng Qing chewed on the word once more, bewildered.
The other classmates around them also fell silent.