After adjusting his mindset in his room, Su Yu went downstairs.

…

In the dining hall.

Zhou Hui had already started eating, surrounded by several new students. Other students were also arriving one after another.

It wasn’t just their table; several nearby tables also seemed to have senior students with a group of freshmen.

“Come here!”

Zhou Hui waved to Su Yu. When he approached, she smiled and said, “Get your own food. You’re not incapable of eating, are you?”

Su Yu smiled, said nothing, and went to get his food.

The dining hall was set up buffet-style.

By the time he returned with his food, Zhou Hui was almost finished. Other students had also arrived. Zhou Hui motioned for them to eat and watched them while saying, “In previous years, some genius students came to the academy and couldn’t do anything!”

“They thought the academy was their home, ordering senior students around. Some even asked senior students to get them food…”

Zhou Hui giggled. “Luckily, you’re not so foolish, or else… I’d be rich!”

The others looked at her blankly. What did she mean?

“Duh, you don’t think labor comes without a price, do you?”

Zhou Hui whispered, “Everyone’s watching. I’m not the type to scam people. Look around. If you see any senior students getting food for freshmen… hehe, that freshman is going to be in trouble!”

“According to the academy’s rules, every effort must be rewarded! If someone helps you, you have to pay them. It starts at 1 merit point, but some black-hearted people might demand three or five. You can’t refuse, because it’s your own fault for being helpless!”

Zhou Hui chuckled, “Just wait and see. It’s bound to happen. Some freshmen are too stupid and arrogant, thinking the academy is their personal playground!”

Su Yu and the others exchanged glances.

Was it really that cutthroat?

Luckily, they hadn’t been brazen enough to ask Zhou Hui for help. A petite girl next to Su Yu asked, a little scared, “Senior, if you had helped me with my luggage just now, would you have charged me?”

“Of course!”

Zhou Hui said matter-of-factly, “I saw that everyone else could carry their luggage, but you were wobbling with yours. I had to help, right? Don’t worry, I’m not greedy. Only 1 merit point to carry it to your room!”

“…”

The petite girl looked relieved. She had carried it up herself, feeling too embarrassed to bother the senior. Now it seemed she had saved a merit point.

For students, 1 merit point was a significant amount.

Even those from wealthy families didn’t spend merit points like that.

It was equivalent to paying tens of thousands just to carry luggage!

Who could afford that!

Su Yu wasn’t concerned about this. He asked softly, “Senior Zhou, are there any rewards for senior students welcoming freshmen?”

“Yes, one merit point for a trip!”

Zhou Hui giggled. “It’s not bad. Many people can’t even get this opportunity. Only students from our Nurturing Nature Class have a chance to get it. It’s easy, safe, and doesn’t take much time. It’s not easy to earn 1 merit point usually.”

As she spoke, Zhou Hui looked at the group and smiled. “Are any of you top-tier students?”

The petite girl who had spoken earlier raised her hand cautiously. “I am.”

Zhou Hui’s eyes lit up. “You’re top-tier? That means you get a 100 merit point reward for enrollment?”

Seeing her eyes gleaming, the petite girl felt a little scared, but she still nodded. “Yes, I heard there’s a 100-point reward…”

“Junior sister!”

Zhou Hui’s eyes shone brightly. “Have you considered lending it out? 100 points. Lend it out for 3 months, and you’ll get back 110 points! You won’t need it when you first enroll anyway. It’s a waste to keep it. You can lend it to me, and I’ll help you lend it out. After 3 months, I’ll give you 110 points. That’s a profit of 10 merit points!”

“…”

Su Yu and the others were dumbfounded!

These city people were too clever!

Even the students from other cities were stunned at this point. The Civilization Academy was really something!

The petite girl was almost crying. She hurriedly said, “No, I need to exchange it for some original cultivation methods. I need to use it.”

“Oh dear!”

Zhou Hui smiled and said, “You don’t know how to calculate at all. Never mind, I won’t scam you. Anyway, you can consider lending it to me when you can’t spend it all. I’ll give you my contact information later.”

After saying that, she looked at the others at the table and smiled. “It’s the same for all of you. You can consider it! Of course, some of you might also be top-tier students, but it’s not shown on the data, and I’m too lazy to ask.”

“Don’t worry, no one would dare to steal your merit points. This is the Civilization Academy. There will definitely be interest. There are so many people in the academy who need merit points. It’s just a temporary turnover. They’ll pay you back quickly…”

Su Yu couldn’t help but ask, “Senior, is it that hard to earn merit points here?”

“Of course!”

Zhou Hui said helplessly, “We’re not warriors, and our physical strength isn’t strong. We can’t take on some tasks. There are also many senior students who haven’t graduated. Some things like translation work and assistance work are snatched up instantly!”

Zhou Hui sighed. “I’ve been in the academy for six years, and I’m in the Nurturing Nature Class. Even at this stage, there aren’t many good tasks to take on. Why else would I be here to welcome you freshmen? Now, learning the Willpower Writings requires merit points, classes require merit points, eating and sleeping require merit points…”

Zhou Hui said dejectedly, “Life is unbearable.”

Hearing her talk so miserably, everyone felt sympathetic.

It was too bad!

Su Yu was also worried and asked, “Is there no way to earn merit points then?”

“There is!”

Zhou Hui said gloomily, “Didn’t I say? There are many tasks. Assisting alchemists in refining pills, helping beast tamers raise demon beasts, assisting divine inscription masters… you can earn merit points for all of that.”

“Those who are strong and confident can challenge the academy’s top 100 list. If you get on the top 100 list, you’ll get merit point compensation every month!”

“Top 100 list?” Su Yu was slightly taken aback.

Beside him, the petite girl hurriedly said, “I know, Senior. Is it the ranking list for the Nurturing Nature stage?”

“You could say that.”
Zhou Hui laughed, “That thing, only those who cultivate their nature can get on the list, and only the strong ones among them! They don’t allow anyone over 30 to enter, and Tengkong graduates aren’t allowed either, it’s just to reward other students.”

The short girl asked again, “Senior, I’ve heard my aunt talk about this, but I’m planning to become a Pill Master, so my strength definitely won’t be high. How can I get on the list then?”

“That’s easy!”

Zhou Hui smiled, “The Hundred Strong List is mainly for those who focus on combat. Actually, Pill Masters, Rune Masters, and Weapon Masters all have their own lists. You can get on those lists, it’s just that they’re not as famous as the Hundred Strong List.”

After saying that, she looked at the wide-eyed freshmen at the table and said with a chuckle, “Don’t even think about it! Just think about how many people there are in the Civilization Academy. Only a few people graduate each year, and under 30, there are at least a thousand people who stay behind because they can’t graduate. And others leave the academy… all in all, after more than ten years of accumulation, there are tens of thousands of students!”

Just the students under 30 alone numbered in the tens of thousands.

There were also many who couldn’t take it and had already left the academy, otherwise the number would be even higher.

Zhou Hui laughed, “There isn’t just one Nature Cultivation class. Every department has them. All in all, the academy has about 5,000 Nature Cultivation students under 30. Only a hundred of them make it onto the list… you little freshmen, don’t even think about it!”

“So many in Nature Cultivation?”

At the table, a boy asked in surprise, “That’s too many, isn’t it?”

“Is that a lot?”

Zhou Hui said nonchalantly, “There are tons of people in Nature Cultivation. And that doesn’t even include the students over 30! Reaching 50% willpower saturation is Nature Cultivation. Freshmen can do it in a year or two, but they stay in the Nature Cultivation stage for a long time. The academy even has a large number of Nature Cultivation cultivators in their seventies and eighties!”

Zhou Hui shook her head and sighed, “Ascending to the Sky is too difficult. The academy had 62 graduates last year, and only 16 of them were under 30. The others were all over 30! And that’s considered good. Most people never have any hope of Ascending to the Sky in their lifetime.”

Everyone instantly fell silent.

Zhou Hui quickly laughed again, “Don’t worry. If it really doesn’t work out, you can just change careers. Like me, if I can’t Ascend to the Sky by the time I’m 30, I’ll leave the academy and find my own way!”

“Our willpower is strong, so if we switch to the Warrior path, reaching Thousand Pound and Ten Thousand Stone stages will be quick. Once we reach Ten Thousand Stone, we can easily find a decent job anywhere.”

One of the students couldn’t help but ask, “Senior, how old are you?”

Zhou Hui’s eyes narrowed dangerously, “Asking that question is very dangerous, you know?”

After saying that, she smiled again, “I’m okay. I’ve been at the academy for 6 years, and I’m 24 this year. You can ask me. But if you ask those old seniors who’ve been at the academy for decades… you’ll be in trouble!”

The students all laughed, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

Everyone had been very nervous before, but Zhou Hui seemed very talkative and didn’t have the cold arrogance of other seniors, so it was easy to chat with her.

Su Yu and the others also noticed that the surrounding tables were eerily quiet.

Some of the seniors ate their meals without paying any attention to the freshmen.

Clearly, this was just a task. They were only responsible for leading the way, and didn’t have to worry about anything else. They would only speak if they wanted to, and would otherwise completely ignore the newcomers.

Su Yu was most concerned about Merit Points, so he asked again, “Senior, I heard that we have to use Merit Points for classes. Is it very expensive?”

“Of course!”

Zhou Hui said, “Not all of them require Merit Points. Some basic subjects don’t require Merit Points, but once it involves professional knowledge, especially writing Articles of Willpower, the Merit Points cost is terrifying!”

Zhou Hui said with a pained expression, “For example, the teaching assistant’s course, where you write Articles of Willpower on the spot, costs at least 5 Merit Points per class! For a Junior Researcher, it’s 10! You can’t afford the Intermediate or Senior ones at all. Actually, they rarely teach freshmen. Even Nature Cultivation cultivators have to be geniuses, or they won’t waste their time teaching us.”

“You’ll need Merit Points to go to the library and the Book Collection Pavilion.”

Su Yu asked in surprise, “Are the library and the Book Collection Pavilion different?”

“Of course they’re different. The library is full of ordinary books. The Book Collection Pavilion is where the essence is, with original texts from the myriad races, or Articles of Willpower written by human powerhouses. Some of them may be outdated, but they’re still much more valuable than ordinary books.”

Zhou Hui sighed, “The library, the Book Collection Pavilion, classes, cultivation, pills, weapons, runes… all of these require Merit Points. Not to mention the secret realms. The academy has several open secret realms, and it costs a terrifying number of Merit Points to enter them. I’ve been here for six years, and I’ve only been there once…”

Zhou Hui gnashed her teeth, “And that cost me several years of savings, putting me back to where I was before I entered the academy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother coming to pick up you freshmen.”

Everyone sympathized with her. It sounded like you couldn’t survive here without Merit Points. It was too terrifying.

One of the students said in a low voice, “It’s okay. My dad gave me 30 Merit Points when I came…”

As soon as he said that, Zhou Hui instantly looked at him, her eyes shining, “Classmate, can I borrow them?”

“…”

Everyone was speechless. This senior was really indiscriminate, borrowing from whoever had them.

Seeing that the student didn’t say anything, Zhou Hui sighed, “Never mind, you’re a cheapskate! But 30 Merit Points… isn’t much use! In a few months, you’ll realize that these Merit Points… are too few!”

Zhou Hui shook her head and said, “And if they’re not your own, you can’t exchange for some things until your Merit Level goes up. It’s useless even if you have Merit Points. Take the secret realm qualifications, for example. You might not be able to enter even if you have Merit Points.”

“Even for the open, most ordinary ones, you need to accumulate more than 30 Merit Points to enter.”

Zhou Hui shook her head, “For those higher-level secret realms, you even need to accumulate hundreds of Merit Points. Think about it, where are you going to accumulate hundreds of Merit Points before Ascending to the Sky!”

Su Yu quickly calculated how many Accumulated Merit Points he had.

He only got 18 Accumulated Merit Points for Myriad Race Language.

He got 10 Accumulated Merit Points for the last mission.

He got 40 points for being first in the assessment, but 20 of them were extra rewards and didn’t count as Accumulated Merit Points.
This is 48 merit points accumulated. There are rewards this time. Above 40 points, that’s nearly 90 merit points accumulated.

Su Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he accumulated quite a bit.

Even with 100 merit points accumulated, he’s almost there.

The academy is actually doing this to give students from ordinary families a chance. Everyone needs to accumulate merit points, and the chances of entering the secret realm are actually the same. Even if large families don’t lack merit points, if they don’t accumulate enough, they can’t enter.

Once they accumulate enough, students from ordinary families can almost earn enough merit points to enter the secret realm themselves.

“This rule is actually to limit those members of large families…”

Su Yu understood somewhat. In the academy, it mainly depends on oneself. Family background is useful, but it may not be as big as imagined, weakening the influence of large families.

Zhou Hui didn’t care what Su Yu was thinking and continued, “It’s too early to tell you this now. You’ll all know it after a while! When you first enter the academy, your main task is to master basic knowledge, choose a discipline, and select a teacher… Of course, this is the treatment for geniuses.”

Zhou Hui shrugged and said, “If you’re not a genius, then honestly attend large classes. For individual tutoring, you need merit points.”

Having said that, she looked at the short girl and smiled, “Liu Ke, you are a top-grade student. Some researchers will definitely accept you. Do you have any goals now? If not, how about I recommend one to you?”

The short girl Liu Ke said timidly, “No need, Senior Sister. I already have a teacher.”

“Too bad!”

Zhou Hui looked regretful. “If I recommend a teacher to you and succeed, I can get some merit points. Too bad!”

Having said that, she looked at the people around her and smiled, “Do you have any other top-grade students? Above average is fine too. Top-grade students are a minority after all. Above average, there’s a good chance of finding a teaching assistant as a teacher. I’ll introduce you to the most suitable one. If both sides like each other, I’ll also get some benefits.”

To Su Yu’s right, a boy raised his hand and said, “Senior Sister, I had an average-plus assessment. Can I find a suitable teacher to guide me?”

“There’s hope!”

Zhou Hui nodded and said, “We’ll chat privately later. There aren’t many new students this year. Although they said they reduced the quota by 500, they actually crammed people in through various channels. Plus, a group of people ran to small cities for the assessment. The actual number of enrolled students is about the same as in previous years, around 2,000.”

“Most of them are low-grade, at least 1,200 or more. Five or six hundred are average-grade, and the rest are probably top-grade…”

As she spoke, Zhou Hui added, “This year the academy has regulations, and there are requirements for researchers. There may be hundreds of researchers who need to accept students. If they accept a few hundred people, even average-grade students have a chance…”

After she finished speaking, Su Yu interjected, “Senior Sister, if no one accepts the new students this year, will there be a chance in the future?”

“Yes!”

Zhou Hui said with a smile, “Senior Sister, I’m going to try it this year too. See if I have a chance to find a teacher! But teachers don’t like accepting older students…”

Zhou Hui sighed again, “They say we’re experienced veterans, our personalities have been smoothed out. They don’t even think about it, what can we do! No one accepted us when we first entered the academy, so we have to slowly grind our way up, right? If we weren’t experienced veterans, we wouldn’t be able to cultivate to this point. Seriously, we can only take it one step at a time!”

Having said that, she looked at Su Yu and said, “Su Yu, you’re from Nanyuan. I heard that Nanyuan seems to have produced a top-grade student this year…”

As she spoke, Zhou Hui blinked!

What was the name of that top-grade student from Nanyuan?

As older students, they rarely care about this. New students might care a bit about each other, but who cares about that among the older students? No matter how great they are, what does it have to do with me?

The other new students didn’t know either. However, Liu Ke suddenly looked at Su Yu, a little curious.

Su Yu?

Is it him?

Top-grade students generally only care about other top-grade students. Unless they’re very close, no one cares about those who are worse than them.

Liu Ke is a top-grade student, so she naturally cares about the other top-grade students this year.

Although there isn’t a complete list, Nanyuan only has one, she seems to have heard of it, called… called Su something?

Su Yu?

And Zhou Hui’s expression also changed a little. The other people from Nanyuan don’t seem to have arrived yet, not just Nanyuan, it seems that the ordinary students from the towns over there haven’t arrived either.

Su Yu seems to be the only one from Nanyuan!

This… is that top-grade student this kid?

“Is it him?”

Zhou Hui’s eyes brightened slightly. Su Yu didn’t say anything, and she didn’t expose him, but she was still more enthusiastic, and said with a smile, “Student Su Yu, remember Senior Sister’s contact number later, contact me if you need anything! Like finding a teacher, looking at information, understanding the academy’s list of geniuses, the list of the top 100… contact me anytime, cheap, no merit points needed, cash settlement is also fine!”

“Same for you guys!”

After Zhou Hui said this, she suddenly took out some books from her bag and said with a smile, “When you come to the academy, you should actually buy a copy of the ‘Great Xia Civilization Academy’ General Handbook, it’s cheap and affordable!”

Liu Ke became interested and hurriedly said, “Senior Sister, how much does one cost?”

“Not expensive, 500 yuan a copy!”

Zhou Hui said with a smile, “This is the latest version. This will be updated at any time. The old version is worthless. The new version is sold to you by unscrupulous seniors for 1 merit point, and you have to buy it even if you’re itching to, right?”

Many people nodded. This is true.

Especially things like the list of the top 100, everyone is actually very curious about it. Zhou Hui opened a page and casually pointed to the page, “This is the chapter on the strongest teaching assistants in the academy. You see, some people may know Xia Yuwen, who is ranked first, but who is second, who is third?”

“Interested?”

“Also, this is the latest student ranking list, who is the strongest student under 30 years old?”

“This is the academy’s list of junior researchers, who is the most powerful junior researcher?”

“…”

“This is…”

Every time Zhou Hui said something, everyone was tempted once. The next moment, the students became interested and took out money to buy things!
Su Yu was also tempted. He was very curious about this, and he knew even less than others. Even though he felt a little bit of pain, he still took out 500 Anping coins to buy a copy.

More than a dozen students, each with a copy, Zhou Hui held the money and smiled.

The cost of this thing is 30 yuan a copy, and it’s more than ten times the profit all at once!

It’s a pity that she doesn’t have many students.

And she’s not black-hearted enough!

Just as she said, she is kind-hearted. Over there, a new student suddenly exclaimed: “3 merit points for a copy, that’s too expensive!”

“Take it or leave it!”

Over there, an older male student didn’t care and said: “This thing is so expensive, it involves internal data of the Civilization Academy, do you think it’s that simple? I also brought it out at the risk of my life!”

At this moment, at several tables around, some old students secretly clicked their tongues. Damn, that’s too black!

Some of them only accept cash, some only accept 1 merit point, this guy is too black, asking for 3 points all at once, he’s simply a blackmailer!

Of course, no one exposed him.

Although this guy is black-hearted and looks like he can make a lot of money, but… be careful that the new students become stronger in a few years and settle accounts with you, it’s not like it hasn’t happened before.

How much you earn depends not only on the present, but also on the future.

Zhou Hui was also envious, but she didn’t care too much. If you really encounter some genius students who are stingy, and they become stronger in a few years, they’ll easily make things difficult for you for these few merit points, hehe… just wait for bad luck!

She didn’t care, but Su Yu and the others suddenly looked at her gratefully.

It seemed like they made a big profit!

People buy a copy for 3 merit points, which is worth tens of thousands, even fifty or sixty thousand, and they only need 500 yuan. There’s no harm without comparison!

They thought it was expensive before, but now they suddenly felt it was too worth it!

Several people carefully hid the books, so that others wouldn’t know they bought them cheaply.

Zhou Hui chuckled secretly. This is good. Among this group of people, there are at least two superior students. It’s best if there are no complaints, maybe they can leave a good impression.

She made money and also scored impression points. No matter whether these people remember it in the future, at least she left a little favor.

As for the old student next door, he probably doesn’t care about these new students. He’ll scam one if he can. Maybe the other party will leave in a few years. If they can’t soar into the sky, what are they staying in the academy for?

“You guys go back and read it slowly. I’ll pick you up tomorrow and take you to the dormitory. By the way, superior students can live in Yangxing Garden. I advise you to take this opportunity to live there, otherwise… hehe, those ordinary dormitories will drive you crazy!”

Zhou Hui gritted her teeth and said: “8 people in a room, you’re reading, others are practicing martial arts, you’re practicing martial arts, others are taking a bath, you’re taking a bath, others are reading… you’ll go crazy!”

Su Yu’s expression changed slightly. Is it that bad?

8 people in one store!

You know, this is cultivation, not daily living. The most taboo thing in cultivation is being disturbed!

At this moment, Su Yu suddenly felt a little depressed. Could it be that I have to go live in Yangxing Garden?

50,000!

I don’t even have that much money in my entire fortune!

Zhou Hui was actually secretly observing him. Seeing this, she smiled inwardly. Sure enough, this is probably the superior student from Nanyuan. Not bad, she actually received two superior students this time.

Although it’s just picking up new students once, it may not be without benefits if you communicate well.

Zhou Hui was secretly complacent. It was still good to be coquettish with the researchers who assigned the tasks. The list they assigned to her was good.

PS: Everyone, please recommend and vote. The monthly tickets can be kept for a few days. It will be on the shelves at noon on March 20th, it should be like this. There are still 8 days. Lao Ying tries to get the free chapters to around 500,000 words. Now it’s 400,000. Lao Ying is simply a model in the industry. Everyone, please leave me some monthly tickets!

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