The weather was fine and sunny.
In front of the gates of the Star Sea Academy's Teaching District, the postures of the freshmen could truly be described as varied.
Some sat on the ground, leaning back on their hands while gasping for breath; some lay on the ground, retching non-stop; some moved on all fours, cosplaying as Abnormal Titans; and some lay flat on the ground with their eyes rolled back, looking as if they had been "dead" for a while... Aside from the hundred or so people like Jing Yuan who were unaffected, the best of the rest had their toes pointed inward and their legs trembling, as if they had just suffered some form of brutality.
It was unclear whether the welcoming teachers had truly found their consciences or if it was because the students were in no state to continue.
In any case, they were given some time to rest.
"It's been long enough; everyone should have recovered by now. Let's move on to the next step: enrollment."
After about ten minutes, the teachers called all the students to their feet.
The gates to the Teaching District had long since opened. Once all the students were standing, the welcoming teachers led them into the campus.
Not far from the main gate inside Star Sea Academy stood a giant stone tablet.
The front of the tablet chronicled the blood and tears of the academy's early days in red font, while the back featured the school rules, the motto, and a message from the founding dean.
Behind the tablet was a vast, open plaza.
Numerous freshman registration points were set up across the plaza. There were no teachers or upperclassmen; instead, each registration point consisted of a machine two meters tall and one meter wide.
Since Jing Yuan and his group were unaffected by the ride, they now walked at the very front of the freshmen.
Under the guidance of the welcoming teachers, the freshmen spontaneously formed lines and headed toward the various registration points.
"Hello, I am Kunlun, the artificial intelligence head of Star Sea Academy. Please present your admission credentials."
As Jing Yuan approached the machine, a refined male voice spoke.
Freshman enrollment was no small matter for Star Sea Academy. To prevent anyone from sneaking in, these registration machines were directly controlled by Kunlun.
Jing Yuan took a black card from his storage ring and inserted it into the machine's card slot.
"Freshman Jing Yuan, your identity is being verified."
As the voice spoke, Jing Yuan could feel several beams of spiritual light scanning his body.
"Verification complete. Student Jing Yuan, welcome to Star Sea Academy."
Once all the checks were finished, a palm-sized badge was pushed out from a slot on the machine.
The shape of the badge was similar to the Republic Medal from Jing Yuan's previous life, but it was entirely black with a depiction of a brilliant starry sky on it.
The badge was exquisitely crafted, looking as if a real starry sky were sealed within it; when shaken, the image inside would move.
This was the student credential for Star Sea Academy—essentially a student ID, though its functions far exceeded that of a standard one.
Not only could it display student information, but future course selection would also be conducted through the student credential. Additionally, it featured functions for payment, communication, and positioning.
Stepping away from the machine to let the student behind him register, Jing Yuan moved to the side and channeled spiritual energy into the credential.
The credential in his hand lit up, and a virtual screen projected outward.
At the top of the virtual screen were the four large characters for "Star Sea Academy."
Below that was Jing Yuan's photo, followed by some information.
[Department: Command Academy]
[Name: Jing Yuan]
[Gender: Male]
[Student ID: XXXXXXXXXXX]
[Hometown: Tianyuan City, Azure Star]
[Duration of Study: Five Years]
On the other side, the female body Gu Xiao also received her student credential.
After channeling spiritual energy into the credential, the virtual screen popped up.
The differences from Jing Yuan's were the gender (female), the student ID, and the department, which was the Combat Academy.
On the back of the badge was a specially treated component that could be attached directly to clothing.
Under the management of the AI Kunlun, the freshman registration proceeded quickly.
After getting their student credentials, Jing Yuan and the others went to stand by Teacher Wu; the teachers would be taking them on a campus tour shortly.
"Bee-woo, bee-woo, bee-woo—"
"Alarm, alarm. An attack on Star Sea Academy has been detected. All academy teachers, please prepare for combat."
As the alarms blared, over a dozen terrifying auras shot up from within Star Sea Academy, flying toward the exterior of the fortress.
"What's happening?"
The sudden alarm left many students bewildered, looking around in confusion.
No, perhaps they understood perfectly well, but they simply couldn't believe it.
"According to the alarm, someone is attacking Star Sea Academy."
"Huh? Who's so suicidal? An Emperor-level Master?"
"Anyone who dares to attack Star Sea Academy, even an Emperor-level Master, would be asking for death. Although it took us a day and a half to get here by warship, those Emperor-level beings could cover the distance in just a few steps."
"True. Unless more than nine Emperor-level Masters came together, but that's impossible."
"Is this the start of a world-ending war?"
"Don't! I've only just started school; it's not right to run into something like this already, is it?"
In fact, it wasn't just the students; even the welcoming teachers nearby had a flash of astonishment on their faces.
What was going on? An attack on Star Sea Academy?
Who was it? Who was that badass?
While everyone was still speculating about what was happening, the alarm suddenly stopped.
Over a dozen streaks of light descended from the sky—the same teachers who had rushed toward the exterior of the Star Sea Academy fortress earlier.
After the streaks of light reached the Teaching District, only one figure stopped while the others returned to the depths of the district.
Looking at the remaining teacher, Jing Yuan could see that he was carrying a person in his hand.
This was the person who had just attacked Star Sea Academy.
Judging by the situation, this person definitely did not have an Emperor-level cultivation.
Not even an Emperor-level, yet attacking Star Sea Academy all alone? Were they really that brave?
Instead of returning to the depths of the Teaching District with the others, that teacher brought the person to the freshman registration area.
"Dean Zhao, what's going on?"
Seeing Dean Zhao approach, a teacher stepped forward to ask.
"Ask him."
Dean Zhao snorted irritably and threw the person in his hand directly onto the ground.
From the moment Dean Zhao arrived, both the freshmen and the teachers had their eyes fixed on the person he was carrying.
Everyone wanted to see exactly who was so brave as to dare attack Star Sea Academy.
The person Dean Zhao threw onto the ground had disheveled hair and tattered clothes, their face covered in grime—looking just like a beggar.
More importantly, this person, whom they had previously assumed to be an Emperor-level Master, emitted cultivation fluctuations that were clearly only at the Captain Rank.
A Captain Rank Professional attacking Star Sea Academy? Had they grown tired of living and decided to find a creative way to die?