"Squeak squeak~" But, the little gold mouse was slightly unhappy, and she said via voice transmission, "Big Brother Ling Tian, if you can’t go out… Then wouldn’t it mean that I wouldn’t have meat to eat?""You little fellow, all you know how to do is eat… Don’t worry, I’ll let you eat your fill when we go out once a month!" Duan Ling Tian said in a slightly vexed tone.
The middle aged man only glanced in surprise at the little gold mouse when he heard her cry, then he turned around and continued heading forward.
Whereas Ji Feng and Sima Yang looked at the little gold mouse with gazes that contained slight terror.
Although the little gold mouse didn’t display her strength before them, but just the surplus might of her sharp cry was able to make their slave beasts become uneasy and restless…
They could imagine that this was absolutely not an ordinary pet mouse.
It was very likely a demon beast!
All along the way, Duan Ling Tian noticed that he almost didn’t see any buildings in this Dragon and Phoenix Academy, and it was completely empty.
In next to no time, Duan Ling Tian arrived at a place full of holes in the ground under the lead of the middle aged man. There was stagnant water all around this place and many areas even had trash that emitted a pungent stench tossed about, and it was unbearable.
"So stinky." Sima Yang couldn’t help but stretch his hand out to pinch his nose, and his expression was slightly unsightly.
Originally, as far a she was concerned, the Dragon and Phoenix Academy was an academy established by the Azure Forest Imperial Kingdom’s Imperial Family after all, and even if it was established in a hurry, the environment within it ought to be not bad.
But the facts proved that his thoughts were mistaken, absolutely mistaken.
"Hmm?" Duan Ling Tian’s sharp gaze noticed with a glance that there were many tattered tents scattered all around the holey ground.
These tents were covered with tears and were extremely tattered, and if it was a rainy day, these tents would be simply unable to keep out the wind and rain.
Moreover, there were many people standing and looking at these tents, and these people were mostly young men and a few young women.
All of them had a similarity, they weren’t over 35 years of age from their appearance.
"This wouldn’t be that place the Dragon and Phoenix Academy’s students stayed, right?" A bad premonition arose in Duan Ling Tian’s heart.
Meanwhile, Ji Feng and Sima Yang wrapped their heads around it, and their faces became grim.
They were Young Masters of great clans that were born with golden spoons in their mouths. When had they stayed in such an environment? Asking them to stay in such a lousy place was simply torturing them.
"In the future, this place is your residence… All of you can casually pick a tent." The middle aged man turned around and glanced indifferently at Duan Ling Tian’s group of three before turning around and leaving behind Duan Ling Tian’s group of three, who looked at each other in bewilderment.
"We have to stay in this lousy place for a year?" The corners of Sima Yang’s mouth twitched, his brows tightly frowned, and his expression was unsightly to the extreme.
Ji Feng’s expression was unsightly as well
Only Duan Ling Tian had a calm expression, as the conditions here weren’t too bad to him.
As a mercenary and member of the special forces in his previous life, he’d frequently faced various disgusting environments, and there were even many places that were a hundred or thousand times more disgusting that this place.
So even if the conditions here were extremely bad, he didn’t complain.
Only by suffering through the bitterest of the bitter could one become the best of the best!
"Newcomers?" Right at this moment, a slightly hoa.r.s.e voice sounded out from afar.
Duan Ling Tian’s ground of three looked over towards where the voice came from.
With just a glance they noticed that there was a building that was like a water tower standing far away from the holey ground, and there was an exquisite small house atop it.
Compared to this towering exquisite house, the tattered tents on the holey ground simply seemed like a residence for beggars.
For a time, Ji Feng and Sima Yang’s eyes both went red as they stared fixedly at the exquisite house that stood towering there.
Although this house was far inferior to the houses in their home, but compared to the tattered tent, it was simply heaven.
Only Duan Ling Tian’s gaze descended onto the figure that stood before the exquisite house.
This was an old man who wore grey clothes, his face was stiff and a trace of fierceness was revealed from between his brows…
"I’m the Dragon and Phoenix Academy’s Vice Dean, Chi Ming, all of you can call me Vice Dean Chi." The grey clothed old man spoke indifferently.
"Vice Dean Chi!" Duan Ling Tian’s group of three were shocked when they heard that the old man was actually the Vice Dean of the Dragon and Phoenix Academy, and they hurriedly paid their respects.
Ji Feng and Sima Yang both bowed to the old man, and as for Duan Ling Tian, he only nodded.
This scene caused the old man to take a few extra glances at Duan Ling Tian.
"Since all of you have entered the Dragon and Phoenix Academy, then you must abide by the rules of the academy!" The old man glanced indifferently at Duan Ling Tian’s group of three and he said slowly, "I presume that when all of you came here, there’d already been someone that told all of you that you must abide by the rules of the academy during this year… Now, I’ll tell all of you the other two rules!"
As he spoke up to here, the originally muddy eyes of the old man abruptly became fierce, and he said in a deep voice. "Firstly, in our Dragon and Phoenix Academy, different people get different treatment! These tents around all of you are the residences the academy has allocated to all of you now, and you can’t change your residences arbitrarily. Otherwise, the academy will expel all of you!"
Not allowed to change the residences arbitrarily?
Duan Ling Tian’s brows raised as he was able to understand the meaning within the old man’s words.
If this rule wasn’t present, then after the students of the academy stayed here for a period of time, they would surely impatiently want to leave the academy to purchase various things outside to improve their living conditions…
After all, the people that were able to be recommended to the academy were all young geniuses from all around the Azure Forest Imperial Kingdom.
These people were all favored disciples in the powers they were from. When had they suffered such hardships?
Whereas now, under this rule, it had dispersed everyone’s thoughts of improving their living conditions.
Ji Feng and Sima Yang looked each other in the eye and laughed bitterly when they heard the old man.
A similar thought had emerged in their minds earlier, but unexpectedly, it was directly denied by the academy’s rules.
"What sh**ty rules!" The two of them couldn’t help but scold in their hearts.
"Vice Dean Chi, what do you mean by different people get different treatment?" Duan Ling Tian asked.
"You’ll find out about this shortly…" The old man didn’t explain, then continued. "The second rule, students of the Dragon and Phoenix Academy can fight each other, but are not allowed to harm another’s life, or even cripple one another! Otherwise, the person will be expelled as well."
This was something that didn’t come as a surprise to Duan Ling Tian.
The Dragon and Phoenix Academy has the responsibility to protect the safety of all the young geniuses that were recommended into the academy.
"Now, all of you can go find an empty tent to stay in." The old man paid no attention to Duan Ling Tian’s group of three after he finished speaking.
Duan Ling Tian shook his head and was the first to leave and go look for an unoccupied tent.
Presently, the remaining pile of tents were even more tattered than the others…
The good tents had already been selected by others.
"I really don’t know what the Imperial Family is thinking… Making such a lousy place for us! If they lack money, I’m fully able to cover the expenses for an independent courtyard by myself." Sima Yang’s tone was filled with complaint.
"I presume that there’s an ulterior motive behind all this." Ji Feng frowned and guessed.
"What ulterior motive could there be?" Sima Yang grunted.
In next to no time, Duan Ling Tian’s group of three had found their own tents, and the three tents weren’t far away from each other.
The tent was extremely small, and when they opened the tent, they were able to see the large amounts of c.o.c.kroach excrements within it. It caused one to be disgusted and unable to accept it just from its looks.
"F**k! What the f**k is this place? People can stay here?" Sima Yang, who’d just stretched out his hand to open the tent, became gloomy and he once again closed up the tent.
Meanwhile, many people had come over, and then they chose the tents that belonged to them. The expressions of these people weren’t sightly, and many of them even couldn’t refrain from grumbling.
"Time to eat!" A sonorous voice suddenly sounded out.
It was a middle aged man that was walking over with large strides while carried a few large trays, and atop these trays was some rice that was so spa.r.s.e that one couldn’t see any rice on the tray, and a moldy mantou…
"A bowl of rice soup and a mantou?" Duan Ling Tian received his own food and had an astonished expression.
How would he cultivate when he wouldn’t be full from eating this?
"I endured staying in this type of sh**ty place… But can these things even be eaten?" Sima Yang, who had an unsightly expression, had finally exploded, and with a raise of his hand, he tossed his food onto the ground.
Ji Feng frowned as well, when had he eaten food like this since he was young?
Although Duan Ling Tian felt it to be unbelievable, he didn’t think anything was wrong with it. Perhaps this was the academy’s way of giving them experience.
Right when Duan Ling Tian intended to bite the mantou and drink the rice soup.
Another few middle aged men appeared before the eyes of Duan Ling Tian and the others, and these middle aged men had come to deliver food as well.
But, the trays on their hands were instead filled with fragrant rice and various mouthwatering good wine and delicacies…
"Hmph! Eating these is just about right." The expressions of Sima Yang and Ji Feng both eased up.
But they were quickly stunned.
They saw the middle aged man that held these sumptuous dishes directly walk past their area and walk further in the academy.
At that place was a large gate that lead to another area.
"These dishes aren’t for us?" Sima Yang’s face was gloomy, then his figure flashed out to stop one of the middle aged men that carried the fine wine and delicacies, and he said in a deep voice. "What is the meaning of this? Giving us rice soup and moldy mantous, yet others get fine wine and delicacies?"
"Hmph!" The middle aged man glanced indifferently at Sima Yang. "If you have the ability then all of you can go replace them! So long as all of you enter the Inner Hall, you’ll naturally be able to enjoy similar treatment."
As soon as he finished speaking, the middle aged man paid no further attention to Sima Yang, and he pa.s.sed through the gate to enter into the other area.
Inner Hall?
The middle aged man’s words caused the group of young geniuses including Sima Yang, Ji Feng, and Duan Ling Tian to have bewildered expressions.
In next to no time, Duan Ling Tian and the others couldn’t help but follow up to the middle aged man.
Behind the gate, what appeared before the eyes of Duan Ling Tian and the others was virtually another world.