"Wine? I've got some on me. This is the good wine from my family. The four of us should have a proper celebration today!" Qian Xiaohao suddenly said.
A jug of wine then appeared before him. The bottle was silver, exquisitely crafted, and clearly no ordinary object.
Ye Tian glanced at Qian Xiaohao but didn't see a Storage Ring. 'It's probably something like a Storage Belt.' Having such an item meant his family was quite prominent, though perhaps a step below the Murong Youth he'd encountered before.
The eyes of Chu Hongyuan and Zhou Xiang lit up. "Qian Xiaohao, I can't believe you have something as Heaven-defying as a Storage Belt! But one jug doesn't seem like enough. There are four of us, you know!" Chu Hongyuan said with a laugh.
"Don't worry, there's more than enough wine! But we have wine and no food, and there's nothing I can do about that," Qian Xiaohao said.
"That's simple. It'll be time for the cafeteria soon. We can just bring the food back here. We've got two days off anyway, so it doesn't matter if we get drunk," Zhou Xiang said with a smile.
Ye Tian just smiled faintly. 'I didn't expect these three to be such lushes.' He recalled telling himself to put wine in his Storage Ring, but he'd forgotten. 'I'll have to remember to do that next time I get the chance.'
Before long, it was time for lunch. "Alright, let's go, everyone! Let's see how the cafeteria food tastes. Since Linyuan Academy is a super academy, I'm sure it won't be any worse than a regular restaurant," Chu Hongyuan said.
The four of them immediately left their dorm and headed for the nearby cafeteria. A lot of students were already there for a meal, and a long line had formed.
After waiting for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, it was finally the turn of Ye Tian and his friends. The lunch was actually quite good. Even though it was mass-produced, it still looked, smelled, and tasted great. There were three dishes in total, and each person received a tray set, making it easy to carry.
After getting their food, Ye Tian and his friends headed straight back to their dorm. The cafeteria rules allowed students to take meals back to their rooms, but they had to return the trays and utensils on their next visit.
The four placed their trays on the large table in the dorm. Chu Hongyuan smiled and said, "Now we have wine and food. Let's have a toast, my brothers, before we do anything else."
Qian Xiaohao also produced the wine cups. Once they were full, all four of them drained their cups in one gulp. It was the first time Ye Tian had ever drunk like this with people he wasn't familiar with, but he found the feeling exhilarating. 'This must be that so-called brotherly bond.' It stirred something inside him.
This drinking session lasted a full six hours, during which they finished six whole jugs of wine. Qian Xiaohao and Zhou Xiang were completely drunk. Ye Tian and Chu Hongyuan were just a bit dizzy; they could have kept going if they had to.
The drinking session did wonders to deepen their bond. The other three all had very frank and generous personalities, and Ye Tian felt it was a good thing to become brothers and friends with them.
Afterward, all four of them collapsed onto their beds. Before long, snores could be heard from Qian Xiaohao and Zhou Xiang. Ye Tian, however, lay on his bed, thinking about his next steps.
'With my current strength, I can definitely get into the advanced class.' He was torn about whether he should. He didn't want to be too conspicuous, but he also wanted to be with Ye Feifei. 'I'm sure Ye Feifei and Qin Xiaowan can get in too. Both of them are incredibly powerful.'
γTwo days passed in a flash.γ
Zhou Xiang and Qian Xiaohao slept for a full day and night before finally waking up. But when they got up, they were in high spirits and showed no signs of a hangover.
"Brothers, today's the test for the advanced class. Even though there's no way we'll all pass, we should still give it a shot. To be honest, there's something else I'm mainly planning to do," Zhou Xiang said.
"What's that?" Qian Xiaohao asked. Judging by Zhou Xiang's secretive expression, it was probably no good.
"To check out the beautiful girls, of course! You know, a ton of beauties enrolled in Linyuan Academy this time. I'm planning to create a beauty ranking. Isn't that an interesting idea?" Zhou Xiang said with a smile.
"A beauty ranking? You can't be serious. Everyone who just enrolled is separated into different classes. How are you going to manage that? Maybe you could rank the girls in our Class Three, but that's about it!" Chu Hongyuan said.
"Brother Chu, that's where you're wrong. A few of my friends are also among the new students, and we just so happened to get placed in different classes. With that, don't you think creating a beauty ranking will be easy?
Besides, let me tell you, one of them is a master artist. He can sketch a perfect portrait of any girl after just a single glance. You'll see.
Plus, everyone has to gather for the test. It'll be a perfect chance to see everyone at once. Getting a little excited now, are we?" Zhou Xiang said with a grin.
Chu Hongyuan laughed. "Zhou Xiang, I never knew you had this kind of hobby, kid. I bet everyone is curious to see who the beauties of the Basic Level are."
"We'll rank the top ten. Our personal opinions won't count, of course. We'll get lots of people to vote on the rankings, and in the end, we'll create an illustrated album of the beauties for everyone to see. How does that sound?" Zhou Xiang said with a smile.
"Yeah! Great idea!" Chu Hongyuan and Qian Xiaohao said in unison. Only Ye Tian remained silent.
The three of them turned to look at Ye Tian. "Ye Tian, what's wrong? Not interested in the beauty ranking?"
"It's not that. I was just thinking, with so many students in the Basic Level, there must be at least three or four hundred girls. It's hard to say if you can even make a proper ranking. And don't forget, some of the female students wear veils," Ye Tian said with a small laugh.
Ye Tian knew that with their looks, Qin Xiaowan and Ye Feifei were sure to make the list. But Ye Feifei often wore a veil, making it very difficult to see her face. This could lead to misunderstandings and conflict.
"You don't have to worry about that. Wearing veils is forbidden within the academy. The academy has its own rules. The only reason some people are wearing them now is because the final class assignments haven't been made. It'll be banned once everything's been finalized," Zhou Xiang explained.
"In that case, I'm curious to see what you guys come up with. It's getting late, so we should get going. You guys can go look for your beauties; I'm going to focus on trying to get into the advanced class," Ye Tian said with a laugh.
The four of them then left the room and ran toward the academic building. When they arrived, they found that nearly everyone was already there. They were among the last to arrive.
Wei Cheng glanced at Ye Tian and his friends, then said, "Today is the day to show your strength. I'm really looking forward to seeing how many people from our Class Three will advance! Honestly, part of me hopes all of you advance, and another part of me hopes none of you do.
I believe that under my guidance, you're not much weaker than even Xiao Yaoyao from the advanced class. In a moment, everyone will follow me through the Teleportation Gate to the Martial Arts Training Ground. And remember one thing: Class Three is the best!"
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