Ten days passed in a flash.
Jiang Yuan walked out of the Three Step Tower.
"Jiang Yuan, you're finally out! I was dying of anxiety!" Mo Fan, who had been waiting early, came over. He had learned from Dean Xiao that Jiang Yuan's training was ending today and had specifically come to wait.
He was impatient to go to the Imperial Academy to see Mu Ningxue.
That's right, Mo Fan was still selected as an exchange student.
Mu Nujiao, Luo Song, Bai Tingting, and others were also exchange students.
"What's wrong? Are you in a hurry to show off in the Imperial Academy?" Jiang Yuan asked.
"Show off? With you in the team, I'm afraid we'll just flatten the Imperial Academy. Sigh, we're just going there to make up the numbers and broaden our horizons," Mo Fan sighed.
He also wanted to show off, but unfortunately, the gap in strength between him and Jiang Yuan was too great, so he didn't have the opportunity.
Mo Fan decided to spend less time with Jiang Yuan in the future, lest he lose all his limelight, otherwise, how would he attract little fangirls?
"Did Dean Xiao say we should depart now, or tomorrow?" Jiang Yuan asked.
Mo Fan grabbed Jiang Yuan's arm and said, "We exchange students are just waiting for you! Let's go now!"
...
The Imperial Capital, the center of power, economy, and magic in China, where geniuses from all over the country gathered.
And the Imperial Academy, naturally, stood at the very top of all academies in China, truly deserving of being the number one academy in China!
The students there were also the most outstanding talents in the country; usually, the most famous geniuses in China were found in the Imperial Academy.
As soon as Jiang Yuan and his group arrived in the Imperial Capital, before they had even settled into their hotel, Qin Yun dragged them to the Great Wall.
For him, someone who had lived in the Ancient Capital since childhood, no matter how many times he saw the Great Wall built by the Ancient King, it was never enough.
"When the Ancient King was alive, he was the founder of a magical dynasty, an emperor through the ages. Even after his Death, he remained the supreme ruler of the Death Kingdom."
"Egypt suffered immense losses because of Khufu's Pyramid, but the Ancient King directly ceded the kingdom of the living to us."
"You all don't know how big a sensation this caused when it spread internationally. Some people in Egypt even said that the Ancient King is the true Hades, the true Ruler of Death!"
Standing on the ancient and mottled Great Wall, Qin Yun spoke excitedly about the deeds of the Ancient King.
Jiang Yuan even felt a little embarrassed listening to him.
However, what those people in Egypt said was indeed very true.
What was Khufu compared to Hades? The Ancient King was the true Hades, the true Ruler of Death!
After visiting the Great Wall, Qin Yun took them to visit other magical sacred sites, and then they went to the Imperial Academy.
...
In previous years, if exchange students were assigned to the Imperial Academy, all the teachers would try to shirk the responsibility.
This year was different; all the teachers were scrambling to be the team leader.
As a result, Qin Yun, due to his relationship with Jiang Yuan, overpowered the others and became the team leader for this trip.
His smile didn't stop from the moment he entered the Imperial Academy.
Instructor Lu, who was responsible for receiving Mingzhu Academy, led them to the designated dormitory. Just as he was about to speak, Qin Yun preempted him and asked:
"Instructor Lu, when will the exchange student sparring begin?"
"I was just about to tell you about that. Tomorrow afternoon, exchange students from the other six academies will arrive successively. Once everyone is here, we will immediately proceed with the magic sparring." Instructor Lu also had a smile on his face as he spoke, though it was somewhat insincere.
"Oh, I see," Qin Yun nodded, his smile fading.
"Instructor Qin Yun is so eager for the magic sparring; I suppose your academy must be well-prepared, right? Don't go surpassing our Imperial Academy then," Instructor Lu said.
"Oh, no, no, everyone knows the Imperial Academy is the top academy. How could our Mingzhu possibly compare to the Imperial Capital? I just hope your students will be lenient then and not make us lose too badly."
"Look at what you're saying, Mingzhu Academy has a long history, producing countless talents..."
"..."
The two of them kept flattering each other, praising the other's academy to the skies, and both claiming their own academy was just average.
Jiang Yuan and Mo Fan and the others could barely stand it anymore and each returned to their rooms to meditate.
They never expected that even instructors could be so hypocritical, each with a belly full of mischief.
After a long period of flattery, Instructor Lu also left.
He went directly to the academy training ground and met the students who would be participating in the exchange student sparring tomorrow.
"Instructor, the people from Mingzhu Academy have arrived, right? How are their exchange students?" The burly Xu Dalong asked, flexing his muscles.
"They're alright. Just remember to go easy on them then and don't make them lose too badly. After all, they are exchange students; if they lose too badly, it'll be a loss of face," Instructor Lu instructed.
"Tch, if they're no good, they're no good. The students of Mingzhu Academy are just a bunch of mediocrities. And go easy on them? That's wishful thinking," Liao Mingxuan, dressed in white, said disdainfully.
Xu Dalong strongly agreed: "Exactly. Mingzhu Academy has always boasted that they are no weaker than our Imperial Academy, but they don't have the ability, only good at talking. This time, we finally drew them, so we must let them know the strength of our Imperial Academy!"
At this moment, a huge Shadow Wolf Beast carried a student over.
Lu Zhenghe, the Summoning System student sitting on it, had a look of mockery: "Those students from Mingzhu Academy probably can't even defeat my Shadow Wolf Beast. If they lose face then, they can't blame us. Hahahahaha!"
"You can say what you want, but you must go easy on them!" Lu Yiming said sternly.
No matter what, they were all top academies in the country.
They would see each other often; they couldn't be too excessive.
"Got it, got it," Xu Dalong and the others replied lazily.
Only then did Lu Yiming leave, feeling relieved.
...
Time came to the next afternoon.
Imperial Academy Combat Hall.
The Imperial Academy had already finished sparring with the other academies, ending with overwhelming victories.
The final highlight was the sparring between the Imperial Academy and Mingzhu Academy.
The rivalry between the two academies had a long history, and this sparring session was full of talking points. The Combat Hall was already packed before the sparring even began.
As soon as the Mingzhu Academy team arrived at the Combat Hall, all eyes turned to them.
Xu Dalong's eyes immediately spotted Luo Song.
"Oh, Luo Song, I heard you ran off to the Magic Capital a long time ago, and sure enough. With your strength, you're only average in the Imperial Capital, but you became an exchange student there. Indeed, the students of Mingzhu Academy don't have much strength!"
Upon hearing this blatant taunt, in the past, Luo Song would have definitely cursed back, but today was different.
He merely glanced at Xu Dalong indifferently, a faint smile playing on his face.
Luo Song couldn't help but want to laugh when he imagined Jiang Yuan stepping onto the stage later.
Damn it, he was about to burst!