CHAPTER 192: 142 FIRST DISCIPLE!?

To be honest, it’s a bit embarrassing—school has been in session for a whole month, and this is Du Yu’s first time stepping through the academy gates.

Rather than calling this place a campus, Du Yu would much prefer to call it a "botanical garden."

There are just too many Demonic Plants here!

Demonic Plants cover every street, every area of activity, making sure the kids studying here get plenty of Demon Breath.

Of course, no matter how many Demonic Plants there are, you still won’t find any Twin Trees here.

So for some students with rarer attributes, you have to hunt down Demonic Plants that match your element and stick to those locations whenever you can.

"Heh." Du Yu rolled down the car window, took a deep breath, slowly exhaled.

The SUV was clearly moving along a paved road, but it felt just like being in a forest. The scent of greenery filled the air, clearing the mind and soothing the soul.

"Wow!" Little Fen Yang exclaimed softly, following Du Yu for a while before suddenly blurting out, "I really wanna torch the whole place with one big fire~"

Du Yu: "..."

What am I even raising on the sly? It’s no Golden Crow. Clearly, it’s a Bottomless Beast in disguise.

Start a fire on the mountain, end up in the local police station?

"I heard you gave Sword Province’s new pet a beautiful name—Hua Mantang." From the backseat came Yang Qingqing’s voice.

"Ah, Master Qing." Du Yu replied with a grin, "It just came to me in the moment. I named it based on the Pear Blossom Fox’s lore."

"Just came to you?"

"Actually, I had a whole backup list: Hua Manting, Huaman Tower, Huaman City."

Yang Qingqing raised her eyebrows slightly. One lovely name after another—even just hearing them conjures up beautiful scenes, so poetic, such vivid imagery.

Du Yu shrugged. "I’d barely said the first one and Senior Brother Fu was smitten. That’s how the name got finalized."

Lin Shiwei rested her hand on the wheel, turned her head slightly, and shot Du Yu a look both deep and dark.

She’d asked Du Yu to name her Dust Spirit Deer, too, but he just wouldn’t budge.

Sensing the mild resentment in Little Shiwei’s heart, Du Yu gave a sheepish smile and turned to look out the window.

Off to the right was a big, square building draped in creeping vines so thick it looked just like a living wall—good luck finding a door or window.

And as the car got closer, the vines, spiritual as they were, began to quietly unfurl.

Only then did Du Yu realize, wait, this isn’t even a building—it’s a basketball court?

And that’s not a wall, that’s a chain-link fence.

Through the fence, Du Yu saw a group of burly young men pouring sweat on the basketball court.

The dull "thud-thud-thud" noise was actually the sound of their Demon Breath Battle Robes clashing?

Damn~ Using that much force, aren’t they worried about popping the ball...

The car cruised slowly past, and the vines on the fence snapped closed just as quickly.

The students playing ball inside were totally used to this. Anytime someone approached, the leaves would slowly peel back, like an open invitation to join in.

Driving inside the campus, though?

Now that was something new. And in such a flashy off-roader, too—anyone could guess some rich kid was up to no good...

They drove through the "forest" for a good long while, and every building in sight was clad in leaves. Du Yu marveled at the scene—what a wild campus—while noticing the crowds gradually thickening around them.

"Master Qing, we’re almost there." Lin Shiwei said quietly.

The car arrived in the northeastern edge of campus; alongside the paved road, nestled in the woods, were plenty of outdoor training fields.

Lots of students were sparring here, too, and didn’t need to worry about their Demon Pets’ Demon Skills affecting others or trashing the surroundings.

Because the Demonic Plants circling the arenas worked as natural barriers, instantly blocking any stray "fireworks."

As the shifting shadows of branches swept past, and seeing the wild array of Demon Pets in the arenas, Du Yu practically got dizzy just keeping track of them all.

Honestly, campus life wasn’t looking nearly as dull as he’d thought. It was half zoo, half botanical garden...

"We’re here." The car reached the end of the road, rolling to a stop by the curb.

On their right, in arenas 1 through 4 among the woods, the fields themselves were bare, but crowds packed the edges.

Clearly, this was the venue for the first-year Combat students’ September ranking exams.

At nine o’clock, a slew of major elimination matches would be held at once, to determine this month’s top eight ranks.

Demon Spirit Academy divides students into Theory and Combat sections. The Theory monthly tests focus on knowledge, mostly written or oral exams.

Combat students do sit a written test, but that only counts for so much. If you want a high score, you have to dominate in the arena.

The sudden arrival of a vehicle by the curb naturally drew the attention of quite a few students. Everyone wanted to know who was inside, but the windows weren’t see-through.

The SUV sat quietly where it was, with nobody getting out, adding an extra layer of mystery.

Back inside the car, Yang Qingqing frowned slightly. The arena looked packed solid, but in fact the dividing line was obvious.

She keenly noticed two gaps at the northeast and southwest corners of the rectangular arena.

Some students, even those at the back, would rather not claim those open-view corners.

Clearly, two opposing factions had consciously carved out their respective territories.

"Sigh..." Yang Qingqing sighed helplessly. The feud between old and new Disciples—she hadn’t seen it firsthand before, but she’d heard plenty.

This kind of friction was unstoppable. Even with the academy pressing down, things only seemed to be spinning further out of control.

At the root, it was about resources. After all, teaching resources are limited.

Every win, every achievement by the rising Paper Crane Disciples shone glory on the new clan—but chipped away little by little at what the old Disciples once owned.

To Paper Crane Disciples, the Thousand Paper Cranes phenomenon was a heaven-sent boon.

To those with "normal" awakenings, though, it was just fate’s unfairness!

These Paper Crane Disciples weren’t supposed to be Demon Tamers; they were never meant to be here!

Hearing her aunt’s sigh, Lin Shiwei asked softly: "Master Qing?"

Yang Qingqing didn’t reply, watching quietly for a while, until she noticed half the crowd was starting to buzz with excitement.

She cracked the window just a bit; the sound of cheering grew louder and louder.

A tall young man strode behind the car, stepped off the road, and headed straight into the woods, toward the arenas.

"He’s coming, he’s coming! Ye Mingsheng!"

"Let’s get it!"

"Damn it, wreck all those Paper Crane Disciples..." Amid the cheers, curses mixed in.

"Watch your mouth!"

"Clean it up! Watch what you say!"—students in the east half of the circle weren’t having it, shouting back in protest.

Thing is, the conflict had reached a head mostly because of brute strength.

The Paper Crane Disciples had massive potential, but they hadn’t been awakened for long. Most had only just reached Demon Tamer Journeyman rank—few had hit Demon Tamer·Peak Stage.

Whereas the old Disciples...

These "outsider" students had spent a year honing their skills out in the wild, entering the school through rigorous exams.

To reach the top eight at this point, you pretty much had to be the crème de la crème. Every one of them was Demon Tamer·Peak Stage!

And that wasn’t even counting the younger kids who’d awakened early, who technically qualified as old Disciples too.

Some of them, by college age, were Demon Tamers already!

If not for special exams for Demon Tamers and above, this whole arena would be nothing but old Disciples, the prodigies, beating each other senseless.

Off in the eastern woods, Li Mengnan was sitting on a Wooden Stump, biting her lip as she watched the excited crowd up ahead.

To say she wasn’t nervous would be a lie.

The first time she tailed a guy with Du Yu, she’d barely stopped shaking.

Li Mengnan felt a little annoyed too. By this point, the ranking matches had gone on so long, she should’ve been used to fighting with everyone watching—but she still felt wound up as hell inside.

The crowd today seemed extra huge...

"Don’t stress, Mengnan. Our results are already awesome." A bespectacled girl stood behind Li Mengnan, just like a boxing coach, kneading Li Mengnan’s shoulders and loosening her up.

"Yeah, yeah! They awakened a whole year earlier than us!"

"Win and it’s all bonus, lose and we’re not out anything!"

"That Ye guy’s strong, sure, but he’s got no more than a month left. Wait till next month’s ranking, front ranks will be all us Paper Crane Disciples!"

The group chattered away. They were all Li Mengnan’s classmates—every one a Paper Crane Disciple.

Calling them friends was a stretch, but as a team, and with pride on the line, they were united.

"Hmm?" The glasses girl was working on Li Mengnan’s shoulders when she felt someone sidle up.

She didn’t think much of it at first, until a youth in a baseball cap naturally took Li Mengnan’s left hand, and with his right hand massaged her arm, helping her relax.

Now the glasses girl was a little thrown. Uh...

She eyed the young man curiously—he seemed familiar somehow. Which class’s Disciple was this?

"Hey!" came Ye Mingsheng’s shout from inside the arena.

Right in front of Li Mengnan, the crowd parted, leaving the two staring directly at each other.

Li Mengnan frowned. "What do you want?"

Ye Mingsheng tapped his wrist—there wasn’t a watch there, but the message was clear. "How about we start now? That way I can prep for the next round sooner."

As soon as he finished, the sidelines went wild.

The west side jeered, the east shouted back. The air was full of tension. Even Du Yu thought it was nuts.

He’d taken the chance, slipping out while Ye Mingsheng’s entrance had everyone’s attention, just to sneak up on Li Mengnan—never expecting to get a taste of this intense competition up close!

No wonder Demon Spirit Academy had such a reputation!

So youthful, so full of fire!

Li Mengnan’s big, pretty eyes were full of anger: "You... hmm?"

She’d wanted to bite back, but noticed Ye Mingsheng’s face stiffened—his change of expression was lightning fast!

His smile was gone, and he was staring with a frown at someone by her side?

Li Mengnan looked right, lifted her gaze, and immediately beamed: "Oh! Second Brother! When did you show up?"

Du Yu rolled his eyes. I’ve been massaging you for ages—didn’t you notice?!

Talk about being taken for granted...

Ye Mingsheng stepped out of the arena, striding alone right into the Paper Crane Disciples’ group, totally like someone facing down an entire army by himself!

"Du Yu, right?" Ye Mingsheng called out.

"Hmm?" Du Yu kept massaging Li Mengnan’s arm, glancing over in confusion.

He was sure he’d never met this guy before.

Ye Mingsheng crouched a little, elbows resting on his knees, looking up into Du Yu’s bright eyes from under the cap. Finally, he recognized Du Yu’s face.

Ye Mingsheng grinned, a bit of mockery in his voice: "Heard a lot about you, Du Yu. So, you’re the Paper Crane’s First Disciple?"

All at once, the raucous arena fell silent.

Dozens of eyes turned their way. Seconds later, whispers started popping up.

"Du Yu? Isn’t that the guy who hit number one in ten rounds of Bottomless Battlefield?"

"If he’s hanging out with Li Mengnan, has to be. Those two used to team up."

"Holy crap, it is him! Three rings in two months! The teachers talk about his name so much my ears are callused!"

"Never even seen him in school, though?"

"Okay, I get all that. But why does he have to hold hands with my goddess..."