The weekend came and passed by in something of a blur.
Jin Huang went back to Madam Cho's on Friday, paid for dumplings and finally ate until he was full. Madam Cho personally served him the fifth and sixth servings, then ensured him that the quality of the seventh would be too much for him as he was currently.
As she brought out the seventh and final serving, the smell alone almost filled him. He sucked it up and tried to eat it all, barely managing after an intense struggle. Strangely enough, he did not feel full but could not eat any more.
The students around him were amazed and started to regard him as more than human.
After that, Madam Cho invited him into her kitchen, made him cover up his hair with a cloth, and set him to work. He earned thirty spirit stones a day, and got half a day's pay for Friday, on top of the fact that employees could eat for free. When he left work on Sunday night, he had eighty spirit stones in his pockets, looking like two great lumps at his sides, and some packaged food.
Unfortunately, he had to purchase a bag of holding for efficiency, which he managed to barter for and get for 50% off, leaving him with thirty spirit stones when he arrived at home. The person he bought it from said that the bag had a mild preservative effect imbued into it, which should keep his food somewhat fresh for a few days.
Feeling content and ready for his first class, he cleaned himself up and went to bed with a smile.
...
The lecture halls of the Academy did not resemble halls so much as small worlds.
Jin Huang stood at the threshold of Class 4's hall, momentarily unsure whether he was early or late.
The structure was carved into the interior of a floating ring-shaped platform, its ceiling an open dome of drifting light panels that rearranged themselves based on attendance. Stone desks rose from the floor in gentle arcs, each one etched with personal formation arrays for note-taking and such, working in tandem with the jade slips each student possessed.
He stepped inside.
A few heads turned.
Then a few more.
By now, Jin Huang was used to the look- brief curiosity, a flicker of appraisal, and then the quiet mental calculation of 'Is he worth paying attention to?'
Judging by most of the faces of the thirty some students in Class 4, their answers seemed to be: not yet.
He found an empty seat near the middle and sat down carefully, the new bag of holding resting at his side. It was plain, low-grade, but got the job done- which was all he cared about. He patted it once, reassured.
Around him, voices drifted.
"Lin Bo! So we're in Class 4, huh?"
"Middle tier once again, Han Feng. Not bad, not great."
"I heard the really absurd ones went to Class 1. Like that Mo Beiran freak."
"That's fine by me. Less trouble this way."
Jin Huang listened without comment. Class numbers didn't mean much to him yet. As long as the Academy didn't restrict meals, he was willing to learn whatever they taught.
A violet-haired young woman took the seat beside him, placing her things down with deliberate precision. She glanced at him once, paused, then glanced again.
"You," she said cautiously. "Were you the one who ate all those dumplings at Madam Cho's the other day?"
Jin Huang nodded as he fiddled with his jade slip and the receptacle on the desk, eventually getting it to settle in as the arrays on the desk came to life.
She stared blankly, taken aback a bit. "You ate six servings."
"Seven, actually," he corrected with a proud smile, "but the last one was difficult."
She scoffed and shook her head, less cautious now, "That's an insane feat. Madam Cho is known for being the most skilled chef on campus because of how much internal energy she is able to imbue in her dishes. Most instructors can't even handle her food when she goes all out."
Jin Huang smiled, pleased with himself just a bit. "I guess I happen to have a special constitution. At least, that's what the headmaster said after I spoke to him. Personally, I might add."
Her expression shifted to something between disbelief and reluctant admiration. "You spoke to the Headmaster directly and got his appraisal?"
He nodded again, trying and failing to act humble. "I'm Jin Huang."
"Qin Shuyue," she nodded. "Have you even started cultivating yet?"
To this, Jin Huang shook his head and the young woman sighed.
"Figures. Somehow, the real monsters always end up in Class 4."
Before Jin Huang could ask what that meant, the hall grew quiet.
An instructor stepped into the room and moved toward the dais, robes flowing like still water, hair white and long. With a wave of his hand, the hall's formation arrays activated, sealing the space and silencing lingering whispers.
"Welcome, students, to the first of your classes here at the Academy of Cultivation. As I'm sure you already know, the students with the best general ability were placed in Classes 1 - 3, and those with the worst aptitudes in Classes 5 - 7."
"What I'm sure you don't know, however, is that Class 4 doesn't abide by the same rules. This class isn't intended for the 'middling' talents or those who didn't do particularly well or badly. In truth, Class 4 is where all the misfits end up. All of you with talents and potentials that us here at the academy are currently unsure how to accurately classify."
The instructor tucked his hands into his pockets, his long white hair and sword-like brows appearing most imposing. There was a silvery light in his eyes that intensified with each passing moment.
"What it means is that you guys are going to be pushed. Hard. Torturously so. I am going to have you dig deep into yourselves and reveal to me what your areas of expertise are, then I am going to force you, through blood, sweat and tears, to excavate every last ounce of your potential until we see just how talented you all truly are."
A single hand landed on the podium, a wave of powerful energy spreading out through the class and passing by each student, causing their bodies to tingle and their eyes to widen.
"You may call me Mr. Nagira. I will be your All-Aspect Cultivation teacher, as well as your Homeroom Teacher for the rest of your time with us."
A few students stiffened.
Jin Huang just sat straighter.
Mr. Nagira continued, "Today's class will be quite light. We'll just be discussing your individual cultivation foundations and my expectations of you going forward. I'll remind you that this Academy does not care where you come from."
His gaze lingered for half a breath on Jin Huang.
"It only cares whether you can endure or not."
Jin Huang thought of dumplings, steaming broth, and that seventh serving he had barely conquered. He decided he could probably endure quite a lot. Either way, he knew that he was soon going to find out.
Mr. Nagira waved his hand again, and the lighting of the room changed. Those directly over the student seating areas dimmed, and a singular beam just before the podium intensified, making a spotlight. "I shall call your names, and you will step down and introduce yourself."
"Then, based on the results of the many tests you would have done leading up to the orientation, I will reveal to you our inferences regarding your talent. Rest assured that, at this academy, we have a plethora of experienced and extremely well-informed staff, who have been able to accurately identify your abilities."
A student far off to Jin Huang's right raised her hand. Being acknowledged by the teacher, she asked, "How accurate are they usually? What is their success rate?"
Mr. Nagira smiled, "Skeptic, aren't you? But this is good. Our staff, myself included, are usually 99.998% successful at deducing the hidden talents of the Class 4 students."
This answer seemed to satisfy her, and with there being no more questions, the teacher carried on.
"First up: Tang Xianyu. Come on down."