Chapter 738: 664: New Generation

Chapter 738: Chapter 664: New Generation

Floating Island’s main island’s west side, Academic City.

Located more than ten kilometers away from the Green Shadow suburban area, along a spacious and straight cement road, one could see from afar a huge verdant ancient tree.

It was hundreds of meters tall, its robust trunk embellished with exquisite treehouses, a symbol of the World Tree Academy—although incomparable to the real World Tree, it was still spectacular enough.

Tang Yu lifted his head slightly and squinted, instantly spotting the virtual shadow that covered the high sky.

Branches wider than bridges, leaves several times larger than fan palms… and from the direction of the castle, looking back, like a column reaching the heavens, the World Tree’s main trunk.

The World Tree took civilization as its soil, rooting itself in the void, hidden in another dimension.

The sustenance from Green Shadow City, blessings from the Territory… the reborn World Tree had already regained its former size, its canopy covering the sky, larger than the Floating Island’s main island and its three other islands altogether.

Beyond the World Tree Academy, Academic City housed two comprehensive universities and two secondary schools… Middle and high schools had been merged, teaching basic arts and sciences, along with subjects like Apocalypse Calendar history and Demonized Beasts analysis, and a corresponding elementary school, forming a mature education system.

Approaching the Spring Festival, both World Tree Academy and other schools had already closed for the holiday, yet within Academic City, numerous boarding students remained.

They were all orphans, with nowhere else to go, but this year they could finally enjoy a joyful holiday.

“Dean Sir, you have arrived.”

The arrival of Tang Yu alarmed the high officials of Academic City; the first to meet him was the vice-dean of the World Tree Academy, an old man with thinning hair, exceptionally slim, dark-skinned and missing two front teeth.

This old man was merely a low-tier Awakener, elevated by force through Potions, occupying the vice-dean’s position not due to his background but his genuine capability; before the apocalypse, he was the principal of a nondescript school, sponsoring impoverished students multiple times while living a life of poverty himself.

“Good to see you after such a long time, Dean Zhang.”

Tang Yu then remembered that he was nominally the dean of the World Tree Academy; since its establishment, his visits here could be counted on one hand, which made him feel somewhat ashamed.

However, Zhang Gengsheng didn’t dwell on it much.

He wasn’t an old resident of Green Shadow, but after several twists and turns and moving between several medium and large Sanctuaries, he had arrived in Green Shadow. Had it not been for the students he had sponsored, who had awakened and protected him along the way, and his own luck, he wouldn’t have reached Green Shadow.

Zhang Gengsheng had talent and was no slouch in management. He had once served as a grassroots official in a large Sanctuary.

But he couldn’t stand the systems of those large Sanctuaries, centered around nothing but exploitation, with countless survivors starving to death daily, particularly the elderly and children.

Zhang Gengsheng understood the helplessness; the elderly and children were considered ‘burdens’ in the apocalypse, but without a new generation, what future would humanity have? Many well-stocked Sanctuaries didn’t even have orphanages, let alone schools… He had sought audiences with Sanctuary leaders, wealthy individuals, high-tier Awakeners—all had scoffed at his idea of building a school.

It’s the apocalypse, who needs schools?

Only Green Shadow still valued education, even investing vast sums to establish an Academic City… As the vice-dean, Zhang Gengsheng was well aware of the tremendous expenditure involved; even if there were Holy Land-level forces also investing in building schools, their commitment wasn’t even a fraction or a thousandth of that of Green Shadow’s!

Having such a dean was a fortune for the World Tree Academy.

Mr. Tang was also the City Lord of Green Shadow City and the Lord of the Defense Circle, compared to managing just the school and caring for the students, Mr. Tang’s burdens were heavier, naturally making it impossible for him to often inspect the school.

“Come, quickly call him ‘Dean.'”

Dean Zhang beckoned to some shy students at the back.

They were all young, between the ages of twelve and sixteen, representing the best among the new generation of Awakeners. They were a bit stunned at first sight of Tang Yu, who was too young and rarely appeared in public, his recognizability might be the highest, but not familiarity compared to people like Eileen, Luo Zhe, Kong… Eileen and her group occasionally taught public classes at the World Tree Academy.

But… the dean?

Wasn’t the dean of the World Tree Academy the very young City Lord Tang?

Gradually, they matched Tang Yu’s appearance with the commemorative statues within the academy.

“It really is City Lord!”

“A living Dean!”

“Welcome, Dean,” they greeted.

“Heard Transcendents can live for thousands of years. Could it be that the dean looks young but is actually old enough to be Grandpa Zhang’s grandfather?”

“Idiot, how many years has the apocalypse been? The dean is a genuine Fifth Epoch person. Don’t embarrass yourself with poor era history knowledge… According to my estimate, the dean should be about the same age as Grandpa Zhang. It’s just that his cultivation is high, so he has rejuvenated.”

Could these little brats not speak properly…? Tang Yu’s smile twisted slightly.

Zhang Gengsheng coughed awkwardly but politely.

“What were you just discussing?”

“We were just discussing the candidates for the first freshman cup.”

Freshman cup?

I hadn’t heard about this at all… Tang Yu couldn’t help but doubt if he was paying too little attention to his territory.

“The Freshman Cup is an international competition, actually proposed recently by the Ancient Spirit Royal Family. The timing is yet to be decided. It is a team event, aimed at the ‘new generation’ between 12 and 14, possibly extended to 15 years old. The new generation Awakeners, having missed the ‘rapid improvement period’ for refining soul power, can only rely on cultivation. It’s more about inheritance and nurturing.”

Zhang Gengsheng said, “Besides us in Green Shadow, Ancient Spirit and Beiting are the Holy Lands that value the cultivation of the new generation the most, although Ancient Spirit focuses more on the training of Awakeners, while we and Beiting are more comprehensive.”

Tang Yu nodded slightly but didn’t pay much attention. Whether they lost or won mattered little, for Green Shadow had passed the stage of needing competition to boost its influence.

As for twelve or thirteen-year-olds having to fight and see blood, nobody cared about that. Zhang Gengsheng hoped the new generation would receive better training but wasn’t old-fashioned. In the two years before the apocalypse, it was not uncommon to see children only a few years old taking up arms against Demonized Beasts.

Tang Yu thought for a moment then said, “If you guys manage to do well in the Fresman Cup, I can offer each of you an A-tier item as a reward. If you secure first place, each of you will receive an S-tier item, and I’ll build a Mutant Beast Garden inside the World Tree Academy… Yes, the kind that you can visit, and if an agreement is reached with the Mutant Beasts, you can even take them away.”

The mention lit up the eyes of the not-so-big boys and girls.

Even Dean Zhang, a Mutant Beast Garden… He recalled a rumor he had once heard. The research department was developing runes that could contract Mutant Beasts. It seemed now that it might not just be a rumor.

He looked at Tang Yu, who almost imperceptibly nodded.

Of course,

First place might be hard… It’s not that the teaching methods of the World Tree Academy are lacking or the resources aren’t sufficient. It’s just high-tier items, potions that can boost cultivation, the academy rarely just hands them out. Having abundant cultivation resources is also something the students themselves have to compete for… Like Ancient Spirit and other Imperial Dynasties, their royal families surely have key individuals they focus on training…

Zhang Gengsheng understood this well, but his view was similar to Tang Yu’s. The Fresman Cup was to better train the students, not just to strive for rankings.

Led by Dean Zhang, Tang Yu inspected the World Tree Academy, receiving a warm welcome from the remaining students, successfully making his presence known.

Of course, under the various ‘complaints’ of Dean Zhang, Tang Yu invested heavily in the academy.

…

Ancient City District, the hiding place of a few bald middle-aged men has been moved from a five-star hotel to a guesthouse.

Four rooms and two living areas.

The responsible ugly young man brought the message again, “Boss, we got a message from above. We have to complete the mission within a week, or the organization will treat us as traitors.”

The bald middle-aged man frowned, not saying a word, pacing back and forth in the room. “Did you find out the exact location where that big shot is being held?”

“No,” the ugly young man said. “Our bought prison guard’s status isn’t high enough. He only knows that the big shot is held deep within the prison. It’s impossible to buy him out, even if it’s just the shallow-layer prisoners. It would need the consent of three supervisors to take them out.”

The bald middle-aged man’s frown deepened even more.

He had thought about using that prison guard to connect and buy someone higher up, but clearly, there wasn’t enough time.

He wasn’t very confident about the current plan.

“However…” the ugly young man continued, “If it’s just about visiting, that guard can take us in. Uh… I mean visiting Wang Er. He’s only held in the shallow layers.”

After a moment of silence, the bald middle-aged man waved the ugly young man away, then took out a partial map of the prison he had drawn himself and studied it intently for a long time.