Chapter 54

Unknown how much time had passed, the two students' ID cards vibrated simultaneously, jolting them out of their cultivation state.

"Ten o'clock in the morning, in front of the first teaching building, for class division and course selection."

The notification was simple. Checking the time, it was almost nine-fifteen. They still needed to find the first teaching building, so it was about time to set off.

After tidying up the two stoves and looking at the remaining fried dough sticks and kimchi, Ji Ran hesitated for a moment before packing them up.

As they passed the mailroom, Ji Ran poked his head in.

"Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the first teaching building?" He had not intended to disturb the dorm manager, but there was no campus map in front of the old dorm, and asking the manager would save them a lot of time.

"Go east, and in about five minutes, you'll find the campus map." The dorm manager, still engrossed in a book, replied without looking up.

Although the response was a bit unenthusiastic, Ji Ran didn't mind.

"Thank you. By the way, here's the breakfast I made. If you don't mind, please try it." Ji Ran handed over the remaining fried dough sticks and kimchi, placing them on the table. Then, he bowed and left with Lydia, heading east.

"Breakfast?" The unapproachable old man glanced at the package, put down his book, and curiously picked up a fried dough stick.

"Hmm... not bad..." The old man's eyes narrowed, and a satisfied expression finally appeared on his face.

The first teaching building was not hard to find, as it was one of the tallest buildings on campus. After checking the campus map, Ji Ran and Lydia didn't take long to find it.

The place was now bustling with people.

It was inevitable, as all the new students were here for class division and course selection. There were also upperclassmen in student council uniforms maintaining order, so although it was noisy, no major chaos occurred.

The square in front of the first teaching building was large enough to accommodate all the new students. Around the square stood dozens of gates shimmering with void vortices.

It seemed that the class division and course selection were similar to the entrance exam, using the same overlapping plane technology. In this regard, this world's system was not much different from the computerized course selection in the original world...

In the center of the square was a 3D projection displaying information about course selection and class division.

After a while, Ji Ran finally understood how the course selection and class division at Azure Wind worked.

Course selection came before class division. After selecting courses, students would be divided into classes based on their choices. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but they tried to group students with similar interests and specialties together.

Course selection was quite simple. The subjects for the exams were mandatory, while other subjects were chosen based on personal preference. The more subjects chosen, the greater the pressure during the annual exams. However, the more subjects studied, the more attention one would receive upon graduation, as long as they weren't all leisure subjects with little practical use.

The minimum requirement was four subjects. Students who couldn't complete four subjects would have to say goodbye to Azure Wind.

Therefore, many students who entered Azure Wind would try to choose some easier and passable courses in addition to their specialties to get through the four years. However, as one of the top universities on the continent, all courses at Azure Wind were rigorous, and there were no easy passes. Those who chose easier courses were often just fooling themselves.

Ji Ran had already studied the various courses at Azure Wind after the entrance exam and had chosen three suitable ones for himself and Lydia. Now, he had no hesitation. After glancing at the signs in front of the dozens of gates, he gave Lydia a few instructions, and they went to select their courses separately.

The course selection process was simple: find the main category gate, enter, and choose the subcategory. If not for the large number of people, even the dozen or so spatial gates would have been unnecessary.

Ji Ran also had to go to the swordsmanship gate to choose a subcategory. He selected practical swordsmanship—most students who chose the swordsmanship course also selected this subcategory.

There were always fewer people interested in swordsmanship research. Most wanted to improve their own strength, and fewer were interested in research for the benefit of future generations.

Ji Ran had no interest in that... because even if he wanted to do research, his Four Seasons Sword Technique was not something the people at the academy could create. Would he have to spend decades popularizing Eastern culture? Not only did he lack the ability, but even if he had it, making them deeply understand the essence of Eastern culture would take far more than decades...

Especially without a real China to show them.

After choosing practical swordsmanship, Ji Ran also selected Continental Geography and Continental History. These two subjects were both heavy and tedious, involving constant interaction with books and documents. Even those who wanted to take shortcuts rarely chose these courses.

However, Ji Ran was quite confident in his rote memorization skills... back in school, he had passed many exams with his strong memory...

In this world, relying on this skill to pass these two subjects should not be a problem.

For the fourth subject, Ji Ran chose alchemy, but not the potion-making course related to his cooking skills. Instead, he chose the magical artifact course.

There was a significant difference between cooking skills and potion-making. If he had learned alchemy in the game, it might have been a different story, but now it wasn't necessary.

However, the creation of magical artifacts had many similarities to the creation of magical treasures. The laws of this world were different from his original world, and the creation of magical treasures had also changed. If he could familiarize himself with the creation of magical artifacts, it might help him improve in creating magical treasures.

He only chose four subjects, as his energy was limited. The same applied to Lydia.

The subjects he recommended for Lydia, besides practical magic, were magical zoology, magical botany, and magical transformation.

These were carefully chosen. First, practical magic was the main subject, and magical transformation was Lydia's talent. These two subjects would be no problem for her.

Magical zoology and magical botany were closely related to magic. Many magic-inclined students chose these subjects. Most importantly, Ji Ran could help her in these areas.

In the game world, Ji Ran was very familiar with various beasts, monsters, and herbs. In the Blue Pine Forest, he discovered that the flora and fauna in this world were almost identical to those in his original world, with only different names. The way energy was used was also similar, and he didn't think magical zoology would involve advanced laws.

Of course, Ji Ran's understanding of the laws was still limited to names and basic concepts. To say he had grasped the essence of the laws would be an overstatement.

Two subjects Lydia could handle on her own, and two he could tutor her in. At least passing the exams would be no problem.

After selecting their courses, Ji Ran and Lydia met up again. After the course selection, they had to wait for the central processing system of the academy to handle the class division.

Ji Ran was very curious about this massive system, similar to a supercomputer. Of course, in this world, it would have a different name, and its principles and functions would be quite different. But in terms of management, it was not much different.

Of course, this system was beyond Ji Ran's reach for now, so he had to put his curiosity aside.

By noon, the course selection was almost complete. The class division information appeared on Ji Ran and Lydia's ID cards.

Ji Ran: Swordsmanship Class 1. Lydia: Magic Class 2.

It was clear that class division was based on grades, and the average strategy was likely used... concentrating all the elites in one class was not very efficient. While it could produce a group of high-achievers, it was detrimental to the unity and cooperation of the academy.

Survival of the fittest? Enhancing competitiveness? To some extent, it was necessary, but if applied entirely, it would be no different from the behavior of beasts.

Human society was complex and could not be sustained by the survival of the fittest alone.

However, grades still mattered. For example, Ji Ran's perfect score would certainly draw the attention of Class 1's mentor. No teacher wanted their students to have low grades.

The course selection and class division took half a day, and they missed lunch. Classes would start the next day, so Ji Ran decided to take Lydia back to the old dorm to have dinner together.

However, when they returned to the old dorm, they found that someone was waiting for them.

Outside the dorm, on the open ground, three people were sitting on the chairs Ji Ran had moved out in the morning. Two of them were in their early twenties, and the older one was in his forties or fifties.

Ji Ran didn't recognize any of them, but his appraisal skill told him that none of them were below his level... finding someone below level 20 in Azure Wind was not easy.

In fact, the appraisal skill showed question marks for all three.

This meant that all three were at least mid-Silver level... level 40 and above.

Moreover, the middle-aged man in his forties or fifties had a far more imposing presence.

Ji Ran, who practiced Heart Sword, had sharper senses. Although the middle-aged man's aura was restrained, he could still feel a tremendous pressure emanating from him... even greater than that of the level 5 priest!

Facing such a person, Ji Ran naturally did not dare to be careless... he did not have the confidence to challenge someone so many levels above him.

However, avoiding direct interaction with these three people was impossible. They were sitting right where Ji Ran cooked.