Fifty-Seven

What Yuan Hanshuang did not know was that as she walked toward the front row carrying her book, the gazes of students from both academies fixed upon her back increased exponentially, many of them tinged with confusion and shock.

"Why is she heading toward the front row? Aren't those the designated seats for the two academies' chief representatives?"

"No idea. Wait, not only did she go to the front row, but she also went to the Imperial Academy's seating area?!"

There were actually many unwritten rules regarding public lectures held on the central campus and attended jointly by both academies. The top-pinned post on the Silver Star Forum, titled "Ten Things Every New Student Must Know After Entering Silver Star," explicitly mentioned them, and basically every senior student responsible for guiding newcomers during enrollment would remind them to read it.

Meng Mingcheng, who had successfully secured a golden thigh to hug at the time, apparently forgot all about this, making Yuan Hanshuang one of the very few who happened not to read it.

For instance, during classes in the tiered lecture hall, Silver Star students would instinctively sit in the left three rows, while the Imperial Academy cadets occupied the right three rows, separated by a wide central aisle like the Chu-Han Border, with neither side interfering with the other.

Throughout numerous generations in both academies, every single public lecture had been conducted this way. And now, someone had emerged who not only openly arrived late, but also shattered the Chu-Han Border.

Without a doubt, no matter how the students from either academy viewed this action, it was perceived as a blatant provocation.

The Imperial Academy's honorary president himself was standing right there giving the lecture. Although he was the president of the neighboring military academy, Feng Yuanming was a person of great virtue and prestige. Not only was he a hero of the apocalyptic insect swarm, but unlike Gu Nong, he never played favorites, and he was quite generous with course credits at the end of the term. Therefore, Silver Star students held him in equally high regard; whispering in his class was out of the question, and they could only communicate through eye contact.

"Good grief, I knew Junior Sister Yuan had immense guts!"

"Junior Sister Yuan, a role model for our generation!"

"I'm dying of laughter, look at the expressions on the faces of those neighboring cadets. They look like they're about to burst with anger after she walked over to their side."

Unlike the Silver Star students who were simply watching the spectacle, every single military academy cadet glared furiously at Yuan Hanshuang.

Given that this Silver Star freshman had given their own freshman class a severe humbling during the combat trials, the upperclassmen cadets cast condemning and ferocious looks, attempting to scare Yuan Hanshuang back through sheer intimidation.

Unfortunately, without releasing their synchronized mimicry and pressure, they could only glare impotently.

Thus, completely ignoring them as if they didn't exist, and enduring the worldwide attention of the entire tiered lecture hall, Yuan Hanshuang calmly walked over and took a seat in the very first row of the Imperial Academy section.

To be honest, given any choice, she wouldn't want to sit here either. After all, who goes to university classes and sits in the back row unless they're out of their mind to sit right in the front under the professor's nose? It was just that there were genuinely no seats left in the back, and any that remained were right in the middle. She was already late; if she didn't sit down quickly, was she supposed to keep drawing the teacher's attention?!

Seeing Yuan Hanshuang seated, Feng Yuanming's gaze shifted between her and Lou Jia, and he chuckled, "Alright, even though our little junior sister is pretty, there's no need for everyone to keep staring. Let's continue with the rest of the lecture we didn't finish earlier."

On the other side, Yuan Hanshuang placed her book on the desk and prepared to open it.

Although the interstellar society had long since adopted optical brains, the seven advanced academies still insisted on using the most traditional physical books as teaching materials. It was said that this not only provided a stronger sense of ritual, but also effectively improved students' learning efficiency.

Then Yuan Hanshuang discovered that because she had woken up too hastily that morning, she had brought the wrong book, mistakenly grabbing a magazine the young lady had left in the book basket.

Staring at the large title across the book, *Capital Circle Fashion and Lifestyle Magazine*, her expression fell into dead silence.

Lou Jia beside her seemed to sense something. "Classmate Yuan, if you don't mind, you can share mine."

The Holy Son, who always wore a smile, tilted his head toward her, his long silver hair cascading down his side. His appearance was handsome enough to normally make people feel a sense of distant alienation, yet it was completely softened by the gentle, compassionate, and holy aura he exuded.

Yuan Hanshuang suddenly thought of the Seraph Gabriel she had seen last time. Although the face of the mythological mimicry was blurred, if an angel had a visage, it should look just like Lou Jia.

"Alright, thank you."

Yuan Hanshuang did not refuse. She cleanly closed her own book and slid two seats closer to Lou Jia. The latter likewise imperceptibly pushed the book spread open before him toward the middle, leaving half for each of them.

All of this happened quite swiftly, so much so that even Feng Yuanming, who was immersed in his lecture, failed to notice.

Little did they know that not only were the two sitting in the front row—which was already conspicuous enough—but because students from both sides were closely monitoring the situation the entire time, even the slightest movement could draw countless gazes, let alone such a grand gesture. Instantly, another wave of silent eye contact swept through the room.

Watching the words on the page, Yuan Hanshuang grew a bit curious. "How do you usually read books?"

A trace of surprise flashed in the depths of Lou Jia's eyes.

Ever since his mimicry defect was made public, everyone had gingerly avoided any mention of his eyes, never bringing it up in daily life for fear of touching upon something forbidden.

No one had ever used such a relaxed, matter-of-fact tone, devoid of any pity or gloating, to ask how he solved the problem of blindness in daily life, sounding as casual as chatting about the weather.

"Um... I use spiritual power for observation."

Lou Jia closed his eyes and said softly, "Through the feedback of spiritual power on images, I can capture text."

"Doesn't that require a remarkably high level of spiritual control?" Mentioning this piqued Yuan Hanshuang's interest.

She usually considered her own refinement of spiritual power to be among the best of her peers, commanding both meditative cultivation and mimicry operation as effortlessly as her own limbs. Yet despite this, it was the first time Yuan Hanshuang had ever heard of spiritual power being used for image feedback. "Compared to the naked eye, what is the difference in the images captured by spiritual power?"

"There is a difference. It can only capture the outlines and general shapes of objects; it isn't clear, looking more like something composed of lines."

"Then doesn't that mean everything you see is in black and white?"

"Hmm... not quite." Lou Jia hesitated for a long time, as if thinking of something, his expression growing slightly unnatural.

The two began chatting in low voices as if no one else was around.

Other students did not dare to speak in President Feng's class, but they still dared to secretly use their optical brains, such as posting on the forums.

Within the dozen or so minutes after Yuan Hanshuang stepped into the tiered lecture hall, over a dozen threads popped up in quick succession on the homepages of both academies' forums.

The Silver Star Forum was entirely filled with worship for Junior Sister Yuan's courage.

[Breaking Report! Junior Sister Yuan sets another stellar record, halfway through the public lecture, she directly walked right up to the Imperial President!]

[Junior Sister Yuan arriving late to her first public lecture—could this be a sign of protest?]

[Why do I see Junior Sister Yuan chatting and laughing with the president from next door in such a harmonious atmosphere?]

Meanwhile, the military academy forum threads were mostly filled with sentiments like [How can the Silver Star people have so little martial virtue, openly violating the unwritten rules of public lectures?], [This batch of Silver Star freshmen is arrogant enough to ride right in our faces], and [Our president is such a kind person, surely he won't be deceived by those despicable Silver Star people, right?]

Many students who hadn't attended the public lecture grew curious upon seeing this.

Thus, a mischievous student secretly took a photo and uploaded it.

In the photo, inside the spacious tiered lecture hall, two figures sat adjacent to each other in the front row. One wore the white uniform of the Imperial Academy, while the other wore the gray uniform of Silver Star.

The weather today was fine, and sunlight streamed in through the windows. Viewed from behind, the dappled light enveloped the two individuals reading the book in a hazy, golden aura, looking exceptionally harmonious.

"Good grief, if you didn't tell me this was a public lecture, I'd have thought the two academies started breaking the ice from this batch onwards to host social mixers."

"Wuwu, no matter how he's captured on camera, our president always looks like a heavenly deity descending to earth. This Silver Star freshman is just taking advantage of the president's good temper. Hmph, if any of our other chief representatives were there, wouldn't they give her a beating?"

"Why is President Feng's class the only one the president enrolled in?! If even one more chief representative had been there to protect the flower, they wouldn't have let those despicable Silver Star people succeed!"

"Uh, is it just me, or is this photo actually quite nicely taken? The angle and atmosphere are captured so well, it could even be used as the cover for a tragic youth literature magazine."

This photo sparked an extremely high level of discussion, and even many senior military academy students stopped lurking and surfaced one after another.

Awakened individuals worshiped strength above all else, a trait displayed with particular prominence in the two major military academies.

Ever since Lou Jia entered the First Imperial Military Academy last year, in the short span of a single year, he had not only proven worthy of his reputation as the top genius, but had also conquered these unruly cadets with his noble character and bright, luminous personal charm. With an astonishing unanimous approval vote, he secured the throne of academy president in his very first year of enrollment.

Lou Jia did not possess the stern or rigid personality of previous military academy presidents; instead, he was approachable, making everyone who interacted with him feel as though they were basking in a spring breeze. Unfortunately, not only did he carry the identity of the Holy Son of Light, but he also possessed an overwhelming halo of genius, both of which dictated that others held too much reverence and respect for him to dare approach casually.

To make an analogy, within the Imperial Academy, Lou Jia existed like a high-altitude snow lotus perched upon an altar. After all, a super-powerful support whose abilities could be called miraculous was treated as a treasure to be revered no matter where he went. Whenever they mentioned that the interstellar's very first S+-rank talent was their academy president, the military academy students stood extra straight when walking outside, sharing the same sense of honor as the Holy See.

Yet now! This high-altitude snow lotus had been defiled by the hooligan from neighboring Silver Star!

Throughout the rest of the public lecture, half the students were absent-minded, entirely absorbed in refreshing the forums.

When class finally ended, Feng Yuanming said with a helpless smile, "It seems everyone's enthusiasm for learning isn't very high today. Throughout the entire class, there was nowhere near the usual level of proactivity, which makes me, as your teacher, feel quite defeated."

Students from both academies who were still browsing their optical brain forums simultaneously displayed awkward smiles.

"They say that only unsuccessful teachers resort to assigning extra homework to ensure students consolidate and absorb all the key points covered in class. It seems I have no choice today but to play the villain—your homework is a three-thousand-word essay on the historical analysis covered in today's lecture, to be submitted no later than next week."

"No, please don't—"

"President Feng, you've changed! You never used to assign homework!"

"A three-thousand-word essay, save me!"

Listening to the wails echoing across the classroom, Feng Yuanming wore a satisfied smile. "This assignment will affect the final calculation of your term credits, so remember to submit it on time."

After he spoke those words, someone finally managed to find the shadow of the iron-fisted lieutenant general from the Third Legion who once resisted the apocalyptic insect swarm within this honorary professor whose hair was beginning to turn gray.

Evidently, his image over the years of being easy-going, smiling, and letting students easily slide through his classes to earn credits had already been deeply ingrained in people's hearts.

"Ding-ling-ling—"

The bell rang to signal the end of class, and Lou Jia stood up along with the others.

He closed the book on his desk and handed it over to her casually. "The first half-hour of this class covered quite a lot of content. Starting from page twelve, I took notes on everything. I believe it will be useful for your essay."

"Thank you." Yuan Hanshuang was stunned by his overwhelming kindness, once more sighing inwardly that it was no wonder even the usually lawless Xuanyuan Sheng had been subdued. "Don't you need it yourself?"

"My memory is fairly decent."

Lou Jia smiled, but before he could finish speaking, a crowd of swarming military academy cadets surrounded him. These cadets stared at Yuan Hanshuang as if facing a formidable enemy, watching her like a wild boar eyeing the cabbage they wanted to protect.

Yuan Hanshuang: ?

Watching the retreating backs of the cadets, she scratched her head in confusion, failing to understand what she had done.

"Classmate Yuan, please wait a moment."

However, just as she was about to leave, she was called back by Feng Yuanming.

There were still quite a few people lingering in the classroom, who looked over in confusion upon hearing his voice.

"Although a university career without a single instance of tardiness is incomplete, being late multiple times will still affect your grade point average."

Feng Yuanming handed her a brand-new textbook, smiling and winking at her. "Also, today's class was Interstellar General History. Capital Circle Fashion and Lifestyle can be perused after class; remember not to bring the wrong book next time."