Chapter 447: Ice Spirit Cave
"Mute Lake Academy only accepts girls. I'm not really a fit here, am I?"
Girls' academies weren't anything rare, no matter which world it was.
These kinds of academies usually enrolled daughters of powerful families.
The whole place was full of girls.
Him being the only guy really was a little out of place.
"Don't worry, Mute Lake Academy is divided into the Outer Court and the Inner Court. Each year, only seven people make it into the Inner Court. Only the Inner Court Seven have the qualification to enter the 'Ice Spirit Cave.' The island in the lake is the academy's forbidden ground, the training ground for the Inner Court Seven, and also the principal's private territory. You're my little junior brother, not a student of the academy. No one can say anything!"
Li Meng couldn't help but think of four words.
"Golden House to Keep One's Mistress."
In the whole Mute Lake Academy, he was the only man.
Sure, he was just a kid now.
But kids grow up.
Li Meng pulled out another dried fish and started munching.
"Senior Sister, how many demon-hunting squads does Mute Lake Academy have?"
Demon-hunting squads were the high-end combat force cultivated by the Holy City Alliance.
They were also the talents carefully nurtured by each major professional academy.
On top of that, demon-hunting squads were a major money-maker for the academies.
Every five years, the Holy City Alliance would host a demon-hunting squad selection tournament.
At that time, every academy across the human territories would form teams to compete.
Only teams ranking in the top twenty would have the right to officially form a demon-hunting squad.
The Holy City Alliance would fund the academies based on the teams' rankings.
The amount of funding an academy received each year was closely tied to their demon-hunting squads.
There were five levels of demon-hunting squads.
Soldier-level, General-level, Commander-level, Legendary-level, and Title-level.
The Holy City Alliance would award alliance coins to academies based on the squads' achievements.
Hearing this, Ruoshui's gaze shifted awkwardly.
"Well... Little Junior Brother, you know the academy's all girls, right? Our combat power is a bit lacking. Besides, Mute Lake Academy can live perfectly fine even without Holy City Alliance's funding. So the demon-hunting squad selection tournament isn't all that important."
Li Meng glanced sideways at Ruoshui.
That look said, "Who are you fooling?"
There wasn't a single professional academy that didn't care about the demon-hunting squad tournament.
Because the Holy City Alliance had strict requirements for academies.
If an academy failed to produce a demon-hunting squad within fifty years,
it would be forcibly shut down by the Holy City Alliance.
Professional academies had to ensure they had a demon-hunting squad on standby at all times.
In times of border emergencies, they had to answer the call.
They were required to complete five Soldier-level missions, two General-level missions, and one Commander-level mission every year.
Facing Little Junior Brother's skeptical gaze, Ruoshui felt extremely awkward.
She sighed and rubbed her forehead with a headache.
"Every tournament is fiercely competitive. It's almost impossible to break into the top twenty. Sure, the girls here are pampered daughters of wealthy families, but whether male or female, gaining merits benefits their families. Professional academies aren't playgrounds. They know that. Their families know that. But still, it's just not enough. Mute Lake Academy's students are too specialized—almost all of them are mages, and mostly ice-element. Occasionally, there are a few monsters, but they never go far. In all of Mute Lake Academy's history, there's only ever been one Commander-level demon-hunting squad. In the past thirty years, not a single team has broken into the top twenty."
By the end, Ruoshui looked extremely frustrated.
Ever since she'd taken over as principal, Mute Lake Academy had faced failure after failure in the demon-hunting squad tournaments.
No matter how carefully she trained the students,
she could never get good results.
This time, her trip to the Beast Forest was to hunt ice-element magic beasts and obtain the "Crown of Inheritance,"
all to prepare for the new Inner Court Seven.
"The last demon-hunting squad tournament just ended, right? How'd it go?"
Although Li Meng had spent almost two years in the Beast Forest,
he still knew about major events outside.
Ruoshui's mouth twitched.
In the end, she couldn't even bring herself to speak.
She was too embarrassed to say it.
The last team had been eliminated in the very first round.
It had left her frustrated for a long time.
"Sigh, let's not talk about these depressing things. Little Junior Brother, we're here!"
Walking along the path, a villa appeared at the end.
It was quite large.
Two floors, like a small castle.
"From now on, you'll live here. The Ice Spirit Cave is to the north. The new Inner Court Seven are still being selected. They'll come to the island in about half a year. Until then, you can go anywhere you like. You can even explore the Ice Spirit Cave. Once the Inner Court Seven move in, they'll live in the dormitories on the west side. Whether you want to interact with them is up to you. If you want to go out and play, just tell me. As long as I'm at the academy, I'm usually pretty free."
Li Meng followed "Senior Sister" on a tour around the villa.
After one round,
Ruoshui hurried off,
saying she had to explain things at the academy.
And just like that, Mute Lake Academy became Li Meng's new home.
Even by the next day, Li Meng hadn't seen "Senior Sister" return.
She hadn't come back, but someone else did.
Early in the morning, someone knocked on the villa's front door.
Hearing the noise, Li Meng opened the door.
Inside and outside the door, the two stared at each other.
Standing outside was a little girl.
Around twelve years old.
Like "Senior Sister," she had long, water-blue hair.
She wore a short, water-blue skirt.
Underneath were white stockings on her legs.
Her cute, beautiful face carried a hint of coldness.
She looked Li Meng over with a scrutinizing gaze.
"You're the little junior uncle the teacher brought back?"
Li Meng bit the fish head off a dried fish.
Did this brat have a grudge against him?
The hostility in her eyes was totally unhidden.
Li Meng wasn't having it. With a "bang," he slammed the door shut.
The little girl outside was stunned.
When she came to her senses, she angrily pounded on the door.
"Open up! This is the teacher's place. I'm her disciple. Who gave you the right to shut the door? Think you're the owner here? Open up! Open it now!"
The door shook under her furious pounding.
She got angrier and angrier.
"If you don't open up, I'll get really mad, you hear me? Open the door!"
Because of the little girl's tantrum, the island's peace was shattered.
Just as her anger peaked,
the door suddenly opened again.
Li Meng came out expressionlessly.
As he walked past the little girl, he gave her a side glance.
That look said, "You're so annoying!"
What the hell was that look about?
The little girl standing outside the villa had an even colder expression.
But then she remembered—he really was just a kid.
She took a deep breath,
forcing herself to calm down.