28: Choose a major

A week later, it was the day for major selection.

Two hundred new students once again gathered in the solemn main teaching hall.

The atmosphere was completely different from the shock and excitement of last time.

The air was filled with a complex mix of tension, anticipation, and confusion.

For many, a week of deliberation was simply not enough.

Li Heng still stood on the podium, looking down at the young faces below.

“The time has come,” he said, his voice not loud, yet clearly reaching everyone’s ears.

“Today, choose your future Dao.”

“Seven major departments: Sword Cultivation, Magic Cultivation, Body Refining, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, Talisman, and Formation.”

“Once chosen, it cannot be changed.”

“Now, begin.”

As his voice fell, the hall became dead silent.

Everyone looked at each other, no one daring to be the first to take the plunge.

“Hmph, a bunch of cowards.”

A disdainful voice broke the silence.

The yellow-haired youth, Liu Lian, swaggered out from the crowd, his headphones dangling from his neck, a defiant expression on his face.

He walked straight to the podium and lifted his chin at Li Heng.

“Principal, do I even need to choose?”

“Of course, it’s Sword Cultivator!”

He raised his voice, speaking to Li Heng and to everyone in the hall.

“Riding a sword on the wind, slaying demons between heaven and earth! This is a man’s romance!”

Li Heng was expressionless; he waved his right hand.

A Jade Slip, shimmering with sharp golden light, appeared out of thin air and slowly floated in front of Liu Lian.

“The Sword Cultivation Department Jade Slip, take it.”

“Cool!”

Liu Lian snatched the Jade Slip and proudly waved it at the crowd, drawing exclamations of envy.

“Holy cow, that’s so cool!”

“It has to be Sword Cultivator, what are you hesitating for?!”

“I want to choose Sword Cultivator too!”

Liu Lian’s actions instantly ignited the atmosphere.

Immediately, a dozen or so boys rushed up, scrambling to shout that they wanted to choose Sword Cultivator.

Li Heng accepted all comers, distributing Sword Cultivator Jade Slips one by one.

The entire hall almost became a special venue for Sword Cultivators.

Han Li watched from below, his eyes burning, grabbing Fang Yuan’s arm.

“Brother, see? The masses have keen eyes! Being cool is for life!”

Fang Yuan said nothing; he just looked at those who were beaming with pride after getting their Jade Slips, then lowered his head to look at his own hands.

“Next,” Li Heng’s voice rang out again.

Fang Yuan gritted his teeth, as if using all his strength, and squeezed out from the crowd.

He walked to the front of the stage, head bowed, his voice as small as a mosquito’s.

“Principal... I... I choose Spell Cultivator.”

This choice caused a moment of silence in the originally noisy hall.

Many people had strange expressions.

Spell Cultivator?

Although the Principal’s demonstration was magnificent, compared to the Sword Opens the Heavenly Gate of a Sword Cultivator, it always felt a bit less imposing.

“Oh? Have you thought it through?” Li Heng asked.

“Yes... I’ve thought it through,” Fang Yuan mustered his courage and looked up.

Li Heng glanced at him and nodded.

A Jade Slip emitting a soft blue light flew in front of him.

“The Magic Cultivation Department Jade Slip.”

Fang Yuan’s hands trembled as he caught the Jade Slip.

The Jade Slip felt cool in his hand, but it calmed his wildly beating heart.

He held the Jade Slip and silently retreated into the crowd.

Han Li immediately came over and patted his shoulder: “Alright, brother! Not following the crowd, you have a future! But seriously, why didn’t you choose Sword Cultivator?”

Fang Yuan just shook his head, offering no explanation.

With Fang Yuan’s example, the choices of the subsequent students began to diversify.

“I choose Alchemy! I’ll have Medicinal Pills galore in the future!” a chubby boy said cheerfully.

“I choose Talisman! Brother Han Li’s Talisman was awesome!”

“Artifact Refining! I want to personally forge my own Divine Artifact!”

“Formation... Formation Master feels like they can plan grand strategies for heaven and earth; I like it!”

Jade Slips for the seven major departments were continuously distributed.

Sword Cultivator remained the absolute mainstream, accounting for over half of the students.

Magic Cultivator came second, with the two girls, Li Qingyuan and Zhang Qiqi, unhesitatingly taking the Magic Cultivation Jade Slips.

Alchemy, Talisman, Artifact Refining, and Formation—these four departments had very few takers, only about ten people per department, appearing somewhat desolate.

Soon, most students had made their choices.

On the field, only a dozen or so people remained, mostly girls.

“Hey, what are you guys choosing?”

“Definitely Magic Cultivator or Alchemy, right?”

“Talisman is also good; drawing Talismans looks so elegant.”

A few girls huddled together, whispering.

One of the girls glanced at the only remaining, untouched department counter, a look of disdain on her face.

“Body Refining... surely no one will choose that, right?”

“How could that be! Look at the Principal’s demonstration, poking a hole in a pillar with one finger, how scary is that.”

“Exactly, exactly, developing a bunch of bulging muscles, like a tomboy, just thinking about it is terrifying, I definitely don’t want to choose it.”

Their words resonated with several other girls around them.

For them, the Body Refining department was strenuous, violent, and unattractive—a nightmare tailor-made for women.

Just then, a figure moved.

A girl in a white dress, looking quiet and beautiful, slowly walked out of the crowd.

It was Lu Miaomiao.

She was very beautiful, the type of girl-next-door who made people feel protective at first sight, with a delicate demeanor.

“Wow, it’s Lu Miaomiao! What will she choose?”

“It must be Alchemy, she looks so graceful.”

“I guess Talisman, quietly drawing Talismans, how suitable for her.”

Everyone assumed she would head towards one of the popular or elegant departments.

However, under everyone’s gaze, Lu Miaomiao walked step by step, past Sword Cultivator, past Spell Cultivator, past Alchemy... She finally stopped in front of the counter that all girls despised and everyone ignored.

The counter representing Body Refining.

The entire hall instantly fell silent.

You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone’s eyes widened, their faces filled with disbelief.

They wondered if they had seen wrong.

Lu Miaomiao, the most delicate and beautiful girl in the entire hall, was going to choose the most brutal and painful Body Refining?

“I... I’m not seeing things, am I?”

“Is she crazy? Does she know what Body Refining means?”

“What a joke! With her small physique, to do Body Refining? She’d be crippled on the first day!”

The crowd erupted.

A huge commotion and murmuring swept through the entire hall like a tide.

Liu Lian even exclaimed dramatically: “No way, big sister! You’re going for Body Refining? Are you trying to hurt yourself or what? That’s not a place for women!”

Han Li was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped, muttering: “Holy crap, this script is wrong... the contrast is too great!”

Fang Yuan also looked at the slender figure in shock.

He couldn’t connect the girl in front of him with the terrifying destructive power the Principal had demonstrated.

On the podium, Li Heng’s expression changed for the first time.

He looked at Lu Miaomiao and confirmed.

“Are you sure?”

Lu Miaomiao ignored all the voices behind her.

She looked up, met Li Heng’s gaze, and nodded heavily.

Her voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable resolve.

“I’m sure.”

“I choose Body Refining.”

Li Heng was silent for a moment.

He waved his hand, and a Jade Slip emitting a thick, earthy yellow light flew towards Lu Miaomiao.

The Body Refining System Jade Slip.

Amidst the shocked, confused, and even slightly mocking complex emotions of hundreds of people in the hall.

Lu Miaomiao extended her fair hand and firmly took the Jade Slip.