After the shock faded, the students refocused on the headmaster.
Head Gino spoke once more. "Okay, students. One last thing you should know: you are the second batch of the academy. You will not be the last—more batches will come in the future. So you will become seniors too, and you will have the responsibility to guide your juniors. Thrive together, walk together, stay together.
You cannot seriously hurt or kill your fellow students. You can only fight on the academy grounds—the instructors there will stop you from going too far. The academy is your home, not a battlefield. Maintain the peace of your house. Okay, bye now."
As soon as he finished, Head Gino vanished from his spot. The teachers beside him disappeared in the same instant. Only one teacher remained standing on the stage.
Everyone in the hall stared in surprise. They had never seen such speed before. Even the old students felt a flicker of astonishment—normally their teachers and headmaster never displayed their power like this. But they quickly understood: this was likely for the new students, a quiet show of strength to build confidence.
And it worked. The new students now felt certain—the headmaster had not lied about professions and Martial techniques.
"We really are going to walk the True Path of cultivation. These powerful beings wouldn't tell lies to us, right? Why would they even bother? They're so far above us… if they wanted to trick anyone, they wouldn't need to waste time on children like us. They would target those big organisations and nations, not us." Students thoughts in their minds.
They felt certain that their future is going to become super amazing.
Surpassing their previous expectations.
On the other hand, Sanya and Rudra were surprised too. Sanya murmured in her mind, "Looks like they were puppets. Stage 2 or 3… I guess. They probably heard me talking to Ruyi and Jina. Sigh. I shouldn't do that again. Even though they won't say anything to me because of my brother, it's still not good."
Rudra shared the same thoughts as his sister.
Why were they so sure the teachers and headmaster were puppets?
It's because they knew the academy was created by their brother. And their brother had no human subordinates at Stage 2 or 3. Even the strongest among his people had only reached Stage 2—their mother.
Their brother also had beast subordinates, but only Astra had reached Stage 3. She still could not transform into human form.
So these teachers and headmaster could not be humans or beasts. They could only be puppets. Of course, they considered the possibility that their brother had quietly raised cultivators, but the chances were very low.
Still, they had no problem being taught by puppets. They aren't going to disrespect them or anything. Even at home, they were sometimes taught by them.
While both were lost in these thoughts, they saw a few students following the only remaining teacher out of the auditorium.
The teacher was leading students aged 16 and above to choose their future fields—the professions they wanted to explore.
But when Jina and Ruyi saw that, they turned to the group and shouted, "Hey, you two—Sanya and Galaxy! Why aren't you going? The teacher said 16 and older students have to follow him. Why aren't you going?"
Galaxy replied with a calm smile, "I'm waiting for Sect Leader to go. I'll go with her."
Then they all turned toward Sanya in unison. "Hey, Sect Leader. Why aren't you going?"
Sanya cleared her throat and said, "Well… I'm only 12 years old. I don't need to go there."
After Sanya said it, she looked at the expressions of everyone who had heard.
Jina, Ruyi, Galaxy, Silas, the little girl, and every other student nearby wore the same look.
Just as she expected, they were all in disbelief. She then received a series of rapid questions from Galaxy, Ruyi, and Jina. The others stayed silent, though curiosity burned in their eyes.
Seeing the questions would not stop and she could not answer them all, Sanya raised her hand to halt the three of them.
She said calmly, "Well, I am a cultivator. So this much growth is not that shocking."
When Sanya's group heard this, they calmed down. They thought in their minds: "Cultivation sure is wonderful. So many mysteries."
But when Silas heard Sanya's words, he was dumbfounded. Not because of the cultivation benefits. He was surprised because Sanya was a cultivator. A real cultivator—already practicing the cultivation system!
Otherwise, breathing techniques could not give these effects. There was no news of breathing techniques granting such unimaginable growth in the human body. Breathing only made people a little stronger—not this.
And this raised another question in his mind. Why would she come to this academy if she already had the cultivation system? He could not think of any reasonable answer.
But one thing he could confirm: this group was surely dangerous. They had the cultivation system! They also likely had connections to the academy. Their cultivation system might even be the same as what was taught here.
Silas lowered his gaze, mind racing. He would keep his distance—farther than before. He could not afford to get involved with anyone who already walked ahead on the path he was just beginning. Not when his family's safety depended on every step he took.