Zither Emperor

Chapter 7 – Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts (II)

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“Good girl, you shouldn’t cause trouble,” the Great Mage’s deep voice rang loudly. Calling to the young girl, his vision swept over Yin Zhu’s body. His gaze was very plain, neither sad nor happy. He stopped slightly. When he sensed Yin Zhu’s graceful temperament, he couldn’t help but be somewhat amazed. In particular, Yin Zhu’s crystal-clear eyes left him a very profound impression.

The young girl furiously glared at Yin Zhu. “Don’t let me see you again, you’re not even good-looking.”

“My mother told me as a child that I am good-looking. I do not need to look even better.” Yin Zhu quite naturally replied. To him, it was the simple truth. To others, however, it became a mocking reply. Immediately, the surrounding mercenaries for the most part roared with laughter. Having the courage to offend somebody from an S rank mercenary company, in the eyes of the numerous mercenaries, the mere Red Rank Yin Zhu and his noble, graceful temperament was certainly that of a noble young master.

The young girl once again turned around to glare at Yin Zhu. She apparently wanted to commit his figure to memory before snorting and leaving in large strides.

The Iron Brambles smoothly finished registering as a D rank, probably during the quarrel between Yin Zhu and the young girl. Ge En finally had his wish fulfilled to become a mercenary company head. In order to express his gratitude to Yin Zhu for his assistance, not only did he give Yin Zhu 20 gold coins as he initially promised, he also personally sent him off in front of the entrance to the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts.

“Yin Zhu, we must go back. The competition in Milan is too large, we can’t stay here for work. You must be careful when being here all by yourself. If we have another mission to Milan, I will definitely try to find you. In addition, you are very pure and kindhearted. Thus, no matter what happens, you should protect your good nature as much as possible.” Ge En resembled an elder as he repeatedly warned Yin Zhu. The pure feeling from Yin Zhu’s body had been something he had not come across for many years.

Yin Zhu’s eyes were slightly red. He nodded and said, “Uncle, you all take care of yourselves on the journey back. If not for your help, I would still not have known what to do.”

Ge En laughed out loud, “In the future, we’ll have an opportunity to meet. I’m leaving now, and you are reporting to the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts. Oh, right. From what I see, An Ya is not an ordinary person seeing as how the Dragon Cavalry Commander had a polite air around her. If anything happens to you, remember to find her for help. I saw that she has a favorable impression of you, so she’ll certainly not reject you.”

His eyes followed Ge En’s departing back until he disappeared. Yin Zhu then turned around to face his destination.

Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts was adjacent to the east entrance of Milan City. It was only when he truly arrived here that he understood why of all the human countries upon the continent, the most advanced institution was located on the outskirts of Milan City and not inside Milan City. It was because its acreage was huge. Because the perimeter wall of the institution was separated from Milan City’s walls by only a thin line, at first glance, it was like you didn’t even reach the city boundaries yet.

Ye Yin Zhu, on the way to Milan, had listened to An Ya’s explanations. Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts was also called the Milan Imperial Institution. Located within the Milan Empire, it possessed an extremely majestic status. As the first school on the continent, it was unknown the number of young practitioners who cultivated there. All of the people capable of attending and studying at Milan Imperial Institution felt proud. The Emperor of Milan was actually the esteemed headmaster of the Milan Imperial Institution. Apart from the royal family, anyone wanting to attend the school to study only had one method to do so – passing the test. Someone once said that the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts was only second in strength to the Blue Dias encampment. Milan City’s east entrance was also the only side the army does not need to defend as the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts disciples provided an extremely tough defense.

The institution’s tall entrance was 20 meters in height and 50 meters wide, with a gilded plaque engraved with the Milan Empire crest. Even though it was only the main entrance, one could clearly sense the pure aura assaulting the senses.

After walking through the door, there was a pathway leading to the interior that was broad enough for gnus to walk through side by side. The sides of the roads were lined with tall trees; the trees’ shade hid the sky and covered the earth. Their lush and flourishing branches and leaves exemplified the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts’ ancient existence.

The numerous trees made the interior of the institution’s atmosphere feel very comfortable, the similar atmosphere making it seem as if Ye Yin Zhu was back at the Desolate Jade Sea. He sucked in a deep breath of air. Ever since he left home, this was the first time that he felt comfortable in an environment.

Observing the movements of the numerous students, Yin Zhu discovered that these students were all attired in red and white alternating school uniforms. On the left side of the chest was a simple imprint to distinctly display their different cultivation paths. During this short observational period, Yin Zhu found that the magic six-pointed star design designated the person as a mage, while the double-edged sword and shield design designated the person as a warrior. The exquisite longbow design designated the person as an archer, and so on and so forth. Located to the side of these patterns were a number of small red and white lines with an unknown meaning.

Originally Yin Zhu intended to enter the campus and find someone to inquire about where to register, but he discovered that he did not need to enter the institution’s interior. Located beside the main pathway were explicit directions detailing the direction in which to go to register. He did not know that he just chanced upon Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts’ last student registration day. If he had arrived in accordance to the arrangements by his teacher, Qin Shang, this would have been unnecessary. Except he did not have the introduction letter, so his desire to be a student was certainly no longer simple.

Following the sign’s instructions, Yin Zhu quickly found the registration area. A row of exquisite buildings stood with empty lots in front of them. Each building had at least several hundred square meters of acreage. Different writings symbolizing distinct disciplines were on front of the door of each building. The disciplines were generally subdivided into magic and martial arts categories. Among these were several types of subdivisions. On the front door of the last building, Yin Zhu found the three words – “Divine Music Mage.”

There was only one person in the registration office. In addition, they were leaning forward on the desk, asleep. Her long hair draping over her shoulders indicated she was a woman.

“Hello,” Yin Zhu called out.

“En?” Leaning forward, the woman somewhat dazedly lifted her head up, revealing a delicate, charming face to Yin Zhu. She appeared to be 26-27 years old, her long cyan hair draping over her shoulders somewhat messily as she was previously sleeping. Because of her position, it was difficult to see her stature, but she was an unconditionally beautiful woman. Because she woke up from her nap at the sound of Yin Zhu’s voice, she appeared to have a somewhat languid and graceful temperament.

“Hello, I came to register.”

“Oh, so to register, fill out a form and pay the 10 gold coin registration fee. Even if you did not pass the entrance exam, the registration fee is nonrefundable.” While she spoke, she naturally took out a form and placed it in front of Yin Zhu along with a goose feather brush to fill out the registration form with.

“Thank you, teacher,” Yin Zhu replied. The form was simple with only five sections needing to be filled out: name, gender, age, cultivation level, and birthplace.

“Ah!” Just as Yin Zhu prepared to fill out the form, the female teacher suddenly shrieked loudly. She abruptly rose from her station and opened her eyes wide. The dark green eyes blankly stared at Yin Zhu.

Yin Zhu was alarmed by her shriek, instinctively taking a step backwards and almost stumbling over a chair beside his body. “What’s going on?”

“You, are you definitely sure you didn’t enter the wrong registration office?” The female teacher muttered her question.

Yin Zhu turned around to glance at the doorway with the “Divine Music Mage” sign and nodded. He said, “Ah, yes! This is the Divine Music mage registration office.”

The female teacher cried out in exaggeration, “Oh heavens! Is this the saying, a blade of grass among ten thousand flowers? The Divine Music division finally has a male student, unbelievable! Quick, immediately hand over the registration fee. The Divine Music division’s entrance exam should have just begun. There’s still time.”