The Dean

It was a huge and magnificent auditorium. The surrounding walls were fashioned from gold and had carvings of various lifelike flora-and-fauna patterns. The floor was paved with pearl agate, of which the color changed at irregular intervals. All kinds of gems were inlaid in the ceiling and its beauty was prevalent when the sun shone in. It felt like a dream to stand inside.

Every freshman who stepped in was stunned by the sight. The entire auditorium was divided into four floors and was roughly able to accommodate tens of thousands of people. It was so grand that it could rival even that of imperial palaces seen on television.

Freshmen were only allowed to sit on the first floor. Xiao Lin took a seat in the back corner, by the door. After some thought, he took another seat next to him, so when someone came over, he smiled and said, "Sorry, this seat's taken."

There were barely 700 or 800 freshmen, so they occupied only the first few rows and sat very close to the podium. There were a few men in student uniforms standing onstage and whispering to each other, as if waiting for someone. After several instructors made sure to arrange everything for the students, they hurried up to the stage. They appeared to be checking on the uniformed men, but the latter party showed no interest. The instructors then went back down and sat down at whatever seat they could find. As a result, everyone understood that the status of those onstage were certainly much higher than that of the instructors.

Gu Xiaoyue and Qin Chuan arrived soon too. Xiao Lin was right by the door, so he waved at them. Gu Xiaoyue hesitated, but eventually decided to sit in the seat that Xiao Lin had saved. Qin Chuan glanced blanky at Xiao Lin with a rather unhappy expression in his eyes.

Xiao Lin was getting used to the instructor's attitude toward him. The auditorium was large enough and there was no need to save seats. However, he was still slightly concerned about Qin Chuan and Gu Xiaoyue's conversation. To be more precise, he did not want his biggest secret—his talent of being the SS-Level Academic Genius—to be known by others.

No one onstage stepped forward to preside over that so-called freshman meeting. Perhaps they were waiting for the dean that the instructors mentioned, but Xiao Lin was unconcerned. He looked at the girl beside him, who had a focused gaze and took the initiative to say, "Thank you for what you did during the test."

Her cold eyes still remained under those black-rimmed glasses. The girl knew what Xiao Lin was referring to, because after defeating the Zombie King, she was the one who brought the unconscious Xiao Lin to the safe area and helped him complete the required task. After adjusting her glasses, she merely nodded to express acknowledgement.

She was really a person of few words!

Xiao Lin smiled bitterly and gave up on his attempt to chat with her and get to know her better. Even so, he went straight to the point that concerned him the most, "Why did the instructor hold you back?"

Gu Xiaoyue turned her head slightly and said simply, "I didn't say anything that shouldn't have been said."

Xiao Lin froze and continued to wait, but the girl had already turned her head away and showed no intention of continuing. He became a little frantic and shouted internally, 'SIS! What do you mean by 'I didn't say anything that shouldn't have been said?''

Xiao Lin's ability to achieve Grade S was due to his SS-level talent, but other people were unaware of his talents and would certainly have doubts over his grade. It was expected, and Xiao Lin therefore did not want others to know anything more. Gu Xiaoyue's reluctance to continue talking forced him to comfort himself in the thought that she probably did not reveal to Qin Chuan the intricacies of his role in the battle.

"Oh, right," Gu Xiaoyue spoke out of her own accord all of a sudden. "The instructor is probably going to appoint you as the monitor of Freshmen Class Seven."

"Monitor? Why me?"

Gu Xiaoyue pushed her glasses. "Because I refused."

After ten or so seconds of silence, Xiao Lin was speechless to find that Gu Xiaoyue had closed her mouth again. She did not have the slightest intention to continue explaining. In the end, Xiao Lin felt like he was going to cry miserably and screamed in his heart, 'That can't be all you have to say!'

Why did Qin Chuan look for Gu Xiaoyue to be the monitor? Why would Gu Xiaoyue refuse? Why was Xiao Lin picked to be the monitor after she refused? What did his appointment as a monitor signify? Well, he knew what a monitor was, but in that mysterious academy, there must surely be a different meaning to being a class monitor.

Xiao Lin was thoroughly confused but had nowhere to vent. Just as he was about to ask what happened, someone onstage had begun to speak. It was a boy in a black student uniform, with the rest of the students standing behind him. The boy seemed to be the tallest person on stage.

"Hello everyone! I'm the president of Dawn Academy's student union. Our dean might be late due to delays on the road, so I'll say a few words to everyone first. As someone who has gone through everything you've all gone through, I understand your feelings, your confusion, your restlessness, and your stupefaction…"

The instructors all listened respectfully, but the freshmen had not the slightest idea what the president of the student union meant. Many people were still chatting with each other in whispers, commenting on the president's baby face. The instructors had looked irritated, but they did not know whether they ought to have a word with them. The freshman assembly had completely exceeded their expectations—firstly, the president of the student union was in attendance, and even the dean was scheduled to attend.

The president's speech did not last long. A loud roar came from the sky outside the auditorium, more deafening than thunder. The president's speech was immediately interrupted, and almost everyone could not help but cover their ears. Even so, a second roar still echoed clearly in everyone's skulls.

The thundering roar was inescapable and it shook everyone to the core. Every freshman, including a dozen instructors, trembled involuntarily with pale faces.

Xiao Lin was also shaken. For some reason, the roar made him feel an indescribable fear. With that fear, he felt that he had lost the courage to even stand. However, a head full of fear did not prevent Xiao Lin from having the strange thought of wanting to see how the aloof girl beside him reacted.

Gu Xiaoyue's reaction was no different from everyone else. She shuddered too, but her expression was odd in that there was disgust mixed with her fear. She appeared to feel disgusted at her inability to control herself. Despite biting her lips, she could not control her instinctive reactions.

Someone raised their head and looked up, after which horrified shouts began spreading throughout the auditorium. "My God! A dragon! It's a dragon!"

Xiao Lin lifted his head and his pupils violently contracted. The scene before him was something that he might never forget in his entire life. Outside the transparent ceiling, a giant dragon with a golden luster hovered in the sky above. Its loud roars ascended in pitch.

Indeed, it was a dragon—a real golden dragon!

Xiao Lin rubbed his eyes vigorously to make sure that he was not seeing things and ascertaining that it was not special effects from a movie. Everyone was doing the same. They wanted to vent their fear by shouting, but unfortunately, they trembled under the dragon's might. Other than shaking like a leaf, there was nothing else they could do.

Several individuals on stage began looking extremely uncomfortable too. Others were shaking and reluctantly supporting each other, while the weaker ones knelt down on the spot. The boy who claimed to be the president of the student union was the only one who had a calm complexion. He had no reaction, save for a slightly odd expression. He even seemed to be smiling wryly.

The dragon's roaring lasted for a full five or six minutes before gradually weakening. More accurately, it was not weakening, but was being forcibly restrained. All everyone saw was a humanoid figure riding on the dragon. After bludgeoning the dragon with ten or so heavy punches, the golden dragon's roar turned into a whine, as if it were begging for mercy, until finally, it flew high and left the sky above the auditorium.

The dragon's effect gradually dissipated, but Xiao Lin was already sweating profusely. He slumped in the chair, exhausted. He felt like he had just narrowly escaped death. Like everyone else, his gaze remained fixed on the ceiling.

After sending the dragon away, the figure who was on its back jumped down and stood on the roof of the auditorium. The president of the student union on the stage hurriedly whispered to the person next to him. Someone then immediately operated a device that resembled a miniature laptop. The auditorium's ceiling suddenly parted open to the sides from the middle.

The freshmen all exclaimed as the person on the roof fell directly toward them. However, their exclamations all stopped abruptly, as a pair of white wings suddenly appeared on the figure, like that of angels of legend. The figure then slowly drifted to the stage.

The corners of Xiao Lin's mouth twitched slightly, and he could finally see clearly what the bird-man looked like. He was an old man with gray hair, though there was an absence of wrinkles on his face; he looked quite young. He wore a white robe hemmed with gold silk and held a light blue wooden staff in his hand. The staff was about as tall as a person and was adorned with three fist-sized diamonds on the top.

Perspective aside, the image was that of a wizard that one might see in movies or novels. Considering his wings and the dragon, the new students felt inexplicably excited, despite their exhaustion.

If anyone suspected anything to be a scam during the admission test, or perhaps believed that they were trapped somewhere to be experimented on, the old man's authoritarian and elegant appearance before their eyes finally made them trust the academy a little, so much so that they even began looking forward to things.

The president of the student union took the initiative to go forward and greet him. He had a bit of a bitter smile despite his reverence. "Dean, your entrance was really, um, it's really unique; it left a very lasting impression."

The dean's voice was clear and explosive, "Lasting impression, my foot! I just came from the New World. I was afraid to keep y'all waiting, so I had no choice but to ride this big lizard and rush over here. Who knew that it was its first time in this world and that it would be so hot-tempered? Damn that reptile; how dare it go berserk in my school? Next time, I'll pull its dragon tendons!"

The president wiped the sweat off his forehead, having also felt uncomfortable under the dragon's power earlier. The only person who would dare pull on a golden dragon's tendons was the dean.