The wait was worth it.
Thirty minutes later, the doors to the western wing opened, and Group 9 emerged. If they had looked disheveled and sticky before, they now looked like goddesses descending from the heavens.
The bath had washed away the sweat and fatigue, leaving them glowing with vitality.
Gu Ling walked out first, her red hair damp and darkened, clinging to her neck. Her skin, usually pale, was flushed a healthy, radiant pink from the heat of the springs. She wore a fresh uniform, but the top button was undone, letting the steam escape from her skin. She smelled of wild berries and expensive soap.
Leng Yue followed, looking more ethereal than ever. The "Ice Princess" seemed to have thawed slightly. Her long black hair was loose, cascading down her back like a waterfall of silk. She moved with a liquid grace, her skin possessing a translucence that made her look like a porcelain doll.
Then came Yun Xi. The shy girl was hiding behind her book again, but she couldn't hide the result of the bath. Her skin was dewy, and her massive breasts seemed even heavier now, relaxed by the hot water, swaying softly under her clean robes. She smelled of milk and honey.
Finally, Instructor Han Rou. She had regained her composure, but the bath had softened her features. She looked less like a teacher and more like a young woman in her prime. Her glasses were fogged up slightly at the corners, and she was fanning herself with her hand.
[Ding!][Target Status Update][Squad Morale: Refreshed.][Appeal Level: Critical.]
Kai leaned against a pillar, his arms crossed, watching them approach. The collective scent of four freshly bathed beauties hit him like a physical wave. It was intoxicating.
"Better?" Kai asked, his eyes lingering on a drop of water sliding down Gu Ling's neck.
"Much," Gu Ling huffed, though she didn't snap at him this time. "At least I don't feel like I'm covered in... whatever that slime was."
Before Kai could make a comment about "slime," a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
Whoosh.
A figure clad in the grey robes of an Academy Messenger landed lightly in the courtyard. He held a scroll sealed with the official Azure Wind wax seal.
"Instructor Han Rou of Group 9?" the messenger asked efficiently.
"Yes, that's me," Han Rou stepped forward, straightening her robes.
"The Weekly Directive from the Elder Council."
The messenger handed her the scroll, bowed once to the group, and vanished as quickly as he had arrived, leaping over the garden wall.
The group gathered around Han Rou. The relaxed atmosphere from the bath evaporated, replaced by tension.
"What is it?" Leng Yue asked, her voice cool and sharp.
Han Rou broke the seal. Crack. She unrolled the parchment, her eyes scanning the calligraphy.
"It's the assignment structure," Han Rou explained, her brow furrowing. She looked up at her students. "We... we don't just train blindly for three months."
She turned the scroll so they could see.
"The Academy operates on a Point System," Han Rou said, pointing to a diagram. "Every week, each group is assigned a Quest. We have exactly seven days to complete it. The difficulty varies, and so do the points."
She looked at Kai, then at the girls.
"There are over fifty groups in the new intake," she continued, her voice serious. "But only the groups with the highest point totals will qualify for the Grand Tournament. Specifically... the Top 8."
"Top 8?" Gu Ling exclaimed. "That's insane! That cuts out almost everyone!"
"Those are the rules," Han Rou sighed. "The Academy breeds elites. They don't want to waste time watching weaklings fight. If we want to stand on that stage in three months... if we want to beat Ye Feng... we have to be in the Top 8."
She tapped the bottom of the scroll where a new line of text was glowing, revealing their first mission.
"And if we fail a weekly quest," Han Rou whispered, "we lose points. If our score drops too low... the group is disbanded."
The stakes were set. It wasn't just about getting stronger. It was a race. A grind.
Kai looked at the scroll. He didn't feel fear. He felt the thrill of a gamer who had just been handed a roadmap to power. Quests meant XP. XP meant Level Ups. Level Ups meant more stats, more skills, and more ways to conquer the women standing around him.
"So," Kai said, a confident smirk returning to his lips. "We just have to grind our way to the top. Simple."
He looked at Han Rou.
"Read it, Teacher. What is our first mission?"