Volume 1 Chapter 22: Tradition, Ziplines, and Voice Chapter Mask

A black-robed woman suddenly walked out from a room without the slightest sound, giving Lin Xi and the other Self Defense Department new students who had just followed the single-eyed lecturer onto the bronze stairs a fright.

However, this tall and skinny woman was extremely friendly, her face carrying a kind smile, almost immediately making these apprehensive Self Defense Department students release a breath of relief.

"This is Lecturer Mu Qing. In the future, your food and drink in this place will all be managed by her." The single-eyed black-robed lecturer nodded towards this tall and skinny woman, introducing her.

"Follow me." Mu Qing sized up the new students, and then after a friendly chuckle, turned around to lead the way. The single-eyed black-robed lecturer thus stopped talking, returning to the suspended bronze stairs. Following a loud noise, after his departure, the large bronze gates closed once more. Meanwhile, the suspended bronze stairs were collected like a drawbridge.

There were more than thirty rooms along this corridor they were walking through alone, but this Lecturer Mu Qing directly walked towards the end of this corridor.

At the end of the corridor was a wall, on it many extravagant floral diagrams created from rarely seen, brilliantly colored shells. After giving this wall a push, it began to separate like a pair of doors. Behind this door were a set of inclined stairs, some ink and wash painting hanging from the walls on the side. Lin Xi looked at them with interest, only to find that what was drawn were all young men and women, some with longswords on their backs, some with longbows, some with huge axes that were as massive as their own bodies, making them look extremely heroic.

"These are your senior brothers and sisters. As long as you can break some records of the academy, apart from the additional course points awarded, once you leave this place, your portraits will also be hung here." Right at this time, Lecturer Mu Qing's voice sounded. At the same time, she pulled on a circular door handle on the wooden staircase' handrail.

Whoosh. A bronze staircase suspended in midair swept over again, connecting to the end of these wooden stairs, directly leading to the fifth floor.

In the fifth floor's winding corridor, a crimson velvet curtain could be seen hanging at every interval. Covering the ground was a type of soft wood that released a faint fragrance, walking on it was extremely comfortable.

"This is the room for the five girls." Mu Qing pointed towards the five connected rooms in the middle of this corridor, speaking to the five Self Defense Department female students. Then, she opened one of the doors. "Almost all of the young men have some curiosity towards what the female rooms are like, so you all can come over and take a look right now. After today, you all won't have the chance anymore." Lecturer Mu Qing gave these new students who couldn't help but look inside a look, and then after a chuckle, said, "I will now tell all of you the first rule of Green Luan Academy. Everyone's rooms are forbidden areas, anyone who violates this rule will have up to five course points deducted."

"Five points?" All of the new students erupted into commotion.

"What if we want to chat with each other?" A new student couldn't help but ask. This new student was precisely the golden spoon youngster Mu Shanzi who lost a bet to Lin Xi.

Lecturer Mu Qing smiled and said, "Apart from all of your rooms and my private room, all other areas in this Self Defense Freshman Dormitory are public spaces you all can use, with no lack of large lounges you can use."

"We can go anywhere we please outside of our private rooms?" A Self Defense Department new student cried out in surprise.

Lecturer Mu Qing nodded. "Adapting to and exploring a complex environment is one of Self Defense Department's courses to begin with. Apart from your private rooms, none of the other rooms will be locked, you all may enter and exit them as you please."

After a slight pause, under Lin Xi and the others' amazed eyes, she then added and said, "This is a rule set by Principal Zhang. This isn't only the case for our Self Defense Department's freshman dormitory, in our entire Green Luan Academy, apart from those places that need a set amount of points to enter, the other places are all accessible as well. Our Green Luan Academy's various peaks can all be entered as you all please."

"We can go wherever we want in Green Luan Academy?"

"Correct. However, I advise that before you all have enough skills and courage, to first take it easy. Each year, the number of new students who accidentally entered some places in our Green Luan Academy and became scared stupid is not just one or two."

"Haha." Qiu Lu laughed loudly. However, this still rather young and tender young man who previously got into conflict with Lin Xi with their carriages discovered that he was the only one laughing.

"What? Don't tell me you all really feel that Ms. Mu Qing is serious?" He couldn't help but gloomily ask those around him quietly.

The Self Defense Department students around him looked at him like they were looking at an idiot. "Look at her, does she look like she's joking?"

Qiu Lu only gave Mu Qing a glance, and then he immediately shivered, his small face becoming slightly pale. Mu Qing's face seemed to be covered in a layer of cold light, not the slightest trace of amusement to be seen.

Lin Xi was the first to walk into this female dorm out of curiosity. Everyone else already saw more than ten years of this world, while he only saw two years or so worth, which was why everything was even more novel and interesting to him. Now that the rules of this academy permitted it, he naturally wouldn't show any politeness.

"Please! This is our room, so no matter what, you should let us go inside first, right?" Hua Jiyue curled her lips, leading the other four female Self Defense Department students inside. She spoke like this, but her face didn't show that much dissatisfaction.

"Ah haha..." Lin Xi laughed. This room wasn't that small, but there was no way it could fit more than forty people, so the new students who were a step late could only remain outside.

The floor of the room was also a green soft wood, inside of it a wooden canopy bed, to the side a yellow pear wood cupboard, and a desk. Unknown if it was due to the middle-aged uncle's ideas, the room also had a small separate space to wash up, as well as a small bathing pool built from bluestone. Apart from this, there were also some potted plants in the corner of the room. Sunlight and a cool breeze passed through the open wooden square window, looking through it, the distant mountain range was hazy, forming a simple yet beautiful scene.

Below the window was a cliff. Even though what rested below the cliff was an expanse of trees and meadows, the several hundred meters drop in elevation still made Lin Xi feel a bit dizzy.

"What are those things?"

Suddenly, Lin Xi was a bit shocked. He saw a silver-white light that flickered about between the mountaintops Green Luan Academy's magnificent and imposing palaces rested on. There were many places even on the mountaintop they were on that had this type of flashing silver-white light, cutting across the air.

These were silver steel wires that connected these mountaintops' valleys.

"Those are silver wire ziplines." Lin Xi suddenly turned around, discovering that the black-robed Lecturer Mu Qing had unknowingly already stood behind him. "Now, I will announce Green Luan Academy's second rule; we will not stop private battles between new students..."

Hong!

Her voice was suddenly cut off by a great uproar.

Even Lin Xi's face was covered in shock. This Green Luan Academy allowed fighting as the students pleased? Did this still count as a rule?

"There is no mistake, only, I am not finished. You all lack enough cool-headedness and calmness." Mu Qing gave all of these Self Defense Department new students a deemphasized look. "Our Green Luan Academy's second rule is indeed that we won't prevent fights between new students, but they must be carried out in the set valleys. If private fights are conducted outside of those valleys, the lightest punishment will be a deduction of ten points, while a more severe punishment would be direct expulsion from Green Luan Academy."

"Ten points? Expulsion?"

Sssss! The sound of cold air being sucked between clenched teeth rang between this room.

"If we wish to enter those valleys, do we directly slide down from those ziplines?" Lin Xi immediately recalled that in the world he and the middle-aged uncle came from, there were some foreign universities that had shuttles running between their buildings. He ignored the ten point deduction and expulsion punishment, instead asking in a somewhat calm manner, "Were these also done by Principal Zhang?"

Mu Qing nodded in praise. "This was indeed Principal Zhang's idea, able to save us a lot of time."

"Then can we enter those valleys for personal conflicts at any time?" Qiu Lu and Mu Shanzi both looked towards Lin Xi with malicious intentions, asking.

Mu Qing waved her hand, stopping the Self Defense Department new students who were trying to squeeze their way in, explaining, "Outside of times where there are lessons planned, you all can enter those valleys at any time. Moreover, the various departments all have minimum entrance quotas. For Self Defense Department students, each person must exchange pointers with others at least six times each month."

"The reason why our Green Luan Academy's Self Defense Department students usually all possess great fighting strength when they are sent out is precisely because of this special tradition of our Green Luan Academy." After a pause, this middle-aged black-robed woman who seemed to understand human nature quite well seemed to have seen through Qiu Lu and Mu Shanzi's intentions. "Moreover, our Self Defense Department only has a rule of not deducting points if one meets the participation quota, there is no upper limit. This means that if you want to fight others every single day in that place, that is also fine, only, all students who enter have to wear the designated clothing and voice changing masks. Moreover, the terrain inside mimics various border army battlefields, extremely complex. Once you enter, you might not necessarily be able to encounter the opponent you wished to fight. Ultimately, even though this is a rather interesting and stimulating process, it is not a place to vent your personal spite."

"It's like that?" Mu Shanzi was full of disappointment, shooting Lin Xi a hateful look. "Then we can't even shout out our identity and challenge the other party inside, have the arranged opponent come to fight?"

Mu Qing nodded her head in a meaningful manner. "This is obviously fine, but this is on the premise that your opponent is willing to accept your challenge, moreover you have to ensure that you don't have any grudges with others. It is because in the history of Green Luan Academy, there has been more than one instance where after someone loudly shouted their name, they were viciously beaten by more than ten students."

"I reckon that for someone who is as handsome as myself, and so amiable, there shouldn't be any issues with others plotting against me." Mu Shanzi said to himself in an extremely self-satisfied manner.

"Pu." Hua Jiyue and the others immediately couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Ms. Mu, then once we enter, are we going to be facing our senior brothers and sisters too? Wouldn't us new students end up being beaten miserably?" Someone couldn't help but ask this.

"The new students have their designated new student valley that other students cannot enter. However, there is no restriction on you new students from entering these older students' valleys. Moreover, in all of these valleys, the use of soul force is restricted, so if you all have the courage and interest, you all can also go in and challenge some of your senior brothers and sisters. If you are able to accumulate three wins, then that is equivalent to half a course point of reward."

"Look, there are people there!"

Right at this time, the new students who were next to the window cried out in alarm. Lin Xi immediately looked over, only seeing figures slide down the silvery-white ziplines from a few mountaintops, quickly descending like young swallows returning to the forest, disappearing into the valley below.

1. 41 new students in Self Defense Department c.18