In a haze of spirit, Xu Shang-Chi finished this comical house division ceremony. As the new students joined Lorna in the corridor, both Riley and Squirrel Girl quickly ran over to catch up with him.
"Wait a minute, you guys aren't all going to..."
Riley started, then Squirrel Girl shrugged and replied, "I heard that the college run by that doctor is the most relaxed. If we went to Stark or Dr. Strange's, we'd probably have full schedules three days a week, and skipping class would be out of the question."
"The doctor's nice, you can ask for a leave. I have to take shifts at night for security, to fight crimes," Riley added.
Then, the two of them simultaneously looked at Xu Shang-Chi. Riley asked with confusion, "You booked yourself full of classes. Why didn't you go to Stark's college? The students there work hard. They have to, really. From what I've heard, you can always hear Stark disciplining someone outside his office."
"Hold on, I'm still a bit confused," Xu Shang-Chi said, his rusty brain spinning in confusion. "What's with these four colleges? This is ridiculous."
Squirrel Girl blinked and said, "Didn't you read the admissions notice? At some point, you should have seen a portal open above your head, and a notice was thrown down. If you're unlucky, it might just hit you in the head."
"Don't they deliver it by owls?" Responded Xu Shang-Chi instinctively.
"Don't be silly, can owls deliver letters?" Riley shook his head. "Isn't a portal much more reliable than taming animals?"
"Shh," Squirrel Girl gestured and whispered. "I heard that Kamar-Taj really wanted to use owls. But the weather was too cold and the altitude too high, owls couldn't survive. So they thought about changing to hawks."
"Although both are birds of prey, hawks are obviously fiercer than owls. They're hard for mages to tame, and they easily hurt students, so they switched to using portals instead."
"As for the four colleges…" Squirrel Girl sighed. "Alright, I heard something unknown to others from a mechanical head. If I were to tell you, what would you do for me in return?"
"What good does it do to tell us now? We've all been assigned to colleges," Riley haggled instantly. "Now the three of us are in the same college, we're in this together. At most, I'll pretend to be you when you skip class."
"Deal." Squirrel Girl nodded with a smile.
"I heard from my friend that at the very beginning, the Luminous Alliance, which is also the shadow organization of the Solar System Development Project, was composed of the superheroes you often hear about. They organized classes in the dream world."
"The first classrooms were only for mutants. Most of them weren't keen on studying, but they were incredibly talented and more powerful with knowledge. So, Professor Charles started pulling them into dreams to take classes at night."
Xu Shang-Chi's mind was in a complete mess. He was unable to understand what Squirrel Girl was saying. He was just an ordinary person who needed time to digest this load of bizarre news all at once.
"Later, Dr. Schiller gave Professor Charles a school bus, which is the big ship that carries us here. Hippo Mama is the helmswoman. She's a kindhearted lady with many children who enjoys interacting with young people, so she took the school bus driving job."
"After a while, Professor Charles thought that using such a large ship to transport just a few mutants was a waste. At the same time, Peter Parker was substituting a physics class at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Professor Charles invited him to board the ship to the dream world classroom and continue teaching the mutants."
"At that time, Peter Parker suggested that since one sheep is shepherded and two sheep are herded, why not let the young Spider-Man superheroes who've come here like Spider-Girl, who couldn't complete basic education, come over and sit in on classes."
"Professor Charles has always believed in teaching without any discrimination; any person willing to learn is a good child. He would love to have more people in his school. So, he allowed the Hippo Goddess to drive the bus to pick up the Spider superheroes."
"Back then, two Spider-Men were receiving training at Matt's place. They went to class at night and casually mentioned this to Matt during the day chats."
"Matt thought it was an excellent method. He also had many young superheroes under training who hadn't even finished high school. They couldn't understand basic spatial perspective and architectural structure, let alone adaptable tactics, so he asked Spider-Man to request Professor Charles to let ordinary young superheroes receive training in the dream."
"Professor Charles was delighted. He thought that his idea would definitely change many young people's lives. He had always been working towards this goal, not only for mutants but also ordinary people."
"So, he expended a great deal of effort to expand the school, making more classrooms and increasing the mental bandwidth to accommodate more students."
"However, once we had more students, management became a big issue. Mutants, whether they be big or small cats, could simply mix in a classroom. But these young ones, some want to study physics, some want to learn magic, some are simply there for peace of mind to avoid nightmares."
"Different demands, different desired courses, needing many more teachers and specialized management personnel led the Luminous Alliance to add this to their official plan."
"First, they devised a college system. Of course, in most modern universities this system has been abandoned, but here it's necessary because the students attending class come from different races; there are Mutants, ordinary people, Magicians. Their living environments are different, their habits are different, and when crammed together, conflicts are bound to arise."
"Everyone knows about the conflicts between Mutants and ordinary people. Magicians, accustomed to solitude, can't tolerate the noise from these two groups. After the opening of classes, some young Asgardians were thrown here by Divine King Thor and the Holy Sanctum also sent some young staff over for further study. When these groups gathered together, it seemed as if the ceiling was about to be blown off."
"So, the Luminous Alliance divided all students into four colleges. One is Stark College, led by Stark, where ordinary people and young heroes are the main members. People here are more inclined to learn scientific technology such as basic disciplines like mathematics, physics, and advanced disciplines like spacecraft materials, energy science, etc."
"All students related to magic and magical energy will enter Kamar-Taj College, led by Supreme Magician Strange. The main members of this college are Magicians, Holy Sanctuary staff and young people of different races from the Nine Major Kingdoms. The subjects taught here are related to magic, such as magic energy utilization, wand drawing, wand making, etc."
"Xavier College needs no further explanation, it's the original Mutant academy. Mutants are a special race. They mainly need to learn how to control their own powers and stabilize their mental state. Therefore, they mainly learn subjects such as meditation, psychology, emotional adjustment, etc."
"Lastly, Arkham College is the most distinctive. You can understand it as a management college in regular universities, leaning towards humanities and social sciences. The main courses taught include psychology, behavioral science, sociology, and some application-oriented courses such as human resources, financial management, and economic management."
"Arkham College has the largest number of students and the most diverse races. Some students came to this college because they don't want their courses to take up too much of their sleep time, as Doctor Schiller is easy going, granting leaves liberally and frequently."
"Of course, there are also some students who are not proficient scientists, they prefer strategic planning and overall control. They are management reserve talent, so they came here to learn these subjects, and in the future they will be key members of management systems on Earth and the Nine Major Kingdoms."
"Of course, even though it's not been long since their establishment, every college already has its own style."
"No need to mention the scientific-oriented college belonging to Stark. Strict, meticulous, and meticulous are the creeds of these scientists. Plus, inspiration."
"Balance and tranquility are the words often spoken by the Supreme Magician. However, due to the addition of alchemy and enchantment in modern magic studies, Strange also often emphasizes full attention and power sublimation."
"'The most powerful force is to control innate abilities' is the creed Professor Charles has written for the Mutants, which is indeed suitable for Mutants, who were born powerful."
"Feel, perceive, analyze others and improve oneself are the motto of Arkham College. These are indeed the most important skills a management talent needs to master. However, the gentle doctor also emphasizes 'humility' and a never satisfied hunger to drive constant progress."
Riley listened attentively, his thinking speed was much faster than Xu Shang-Chi, he nodded and said: "It seems that I did not choose the wrong college. I really need to analyze others and improve myself. Up to now, I don't know if I'm Peter Parker or Ben Reilly."
"Well, actually, I chose this college because I heard that the dean has a strong financial management ability. Now the cost of the New Warriors Team is borne by Nightingale alone, but we don't want him to be so hard. We need to find a way to make money, at least to be self-sufficient." The Squirrel Girl shrugged and said.
Xu Shang-Chi's brain was basically not working. The vast amount of information, like violent tides, rushed into his brain all at once. Although it gradually removed some rust from certain areas of the brain, the intense impact made components unable to spin smoothly over a short period of time.
As the three of them walked down the long corridor towards the classroom, a figure in a white coat suddenly came around the corner.
"Hi, Dr. Schiller, oh, Dean Schiller, what are you doing here?" Riley was the first to go forward and greet.
Schiller nodded at them, then looked at Xu Shang-Chi and said, "Come with me."
Xu Shang-Chi opened his mouth, but before he had time to react, Riley pushed him forward, and Schiller looked at the two and said, "You two also come."
So, the three of them followed Schiller, through the hallway and then through the courtyard at the back, and came to the administrative area at the rear of the castle. They took the elevator upstairs, and in a spacious reception room, Xu Shang-Chi saw many Asian faces.
Schiller pushed his back to walk forward until he came to face a middle-aged Asian man. Schiller looked at this man and said, "Chief Zheng, this is Little Xu whom I mentioned to you."
"Shang-Chi, come here, get to know, this is Chief Zheng Xian from China's SWORD."