"This is our Entrance Hall, where you will receive the regular student outfit and everything else." the fisherman adressed Pef who was a bit stunned by everything around him.
The ambient qi was so strong here, at least 30 times stronger than in the first city he visited in the High Heavens, while all around the giant mountain that housed the Academy there was a huge city, going on for 30 thousand kilometers in every direction. Buildings taller than a dozen kilometers dotted the city, although they became smaller and smaller as they extended towards the city limits.
'There are like 300 trillion people in this city....' he estimated with a rough guess. Pef had only seen similar numbers during a multiverse-scale war, not in a single city. And his senses couldn't even reach the ends of this world, seemingly an endless plane dotted with mountains, rivers and cities in a never-ending succesion.
"You'll have time to explore the Celestial City later, little brother." the Celestial Dean said in a mild voice, while patting Pef on the shoulder.
"Ah, yes. Quite a big city..." Pef muttered in a small-town boy tone.
A middle-aged man appeared in front of them, bowing deeply towards the Dean. "Proctor Meng, arrange for this new student to enroll." the fisherman ordered in a casual voice and flew away, without waiting for a reply.
"Name?" the proctor asked in a curious voice.
"Divine Cook." Pef said with a faint smile. Using a Daoist name always felt strange, but also right in a profound way. As if the Heavens resonated whenever he declared his true calling.
"...Oh? There aren't many youngsters who find their Dao so early." the proctor said in a calm tone, while measuring Pef with discerning eyes.
"I'd guess it would be difficult for someone who was raised by a strong clan or sect. Their identity would be secondary to their origin." Pef answered in a modest tone.
"Quite so, little one. The Celestial Dean always had an eye for talent." the proctor added as he presented Pef with jade tray, on which rested a storage bag and blue jade tablet enscribed with complicated Formations.
Peeking inside the bag, Pef found a thousand sets of blue robes, as well as grooming, cleaning and cooking utensils, a dozen books and a few pill bottles. But when he picked up the tablet, an entire new world opened in his mind, rows after rows of unending library shelves filled with books. It took some effort to draw himself out from the gigantic library.
"It is said that nobody has ever read even a percent of all the books inside the Celestial Library, except maybe the Dean himself. And even if you try, you will find that the library keeps growing, even faster than you can read." the proctor declared in a proud voice.
'This might be a challenge for my glove to explore.' Pef mused inward, as he nodded to the proctor and waited for further instructions.
"Polite too, I see. Someone will wait at the door to continue your orientation, such as showing you around for your courtyard and classrooms." the proctor added as a favor, glancing at the side for a large door guarded by a familiar looking golem.
"Thank you, Proctor Meng. What is the business with that golem?" Pef asked while pointing at the Tier 10 golem, who appeared to be a direct copy of his own Bronze Gate guardian from the Celestial Restaurant.
"Oh, the golems. Our new teacher, the Eternium Knight had placed several of them around, for safety. Try not to fight anyone in their presence, as the golems are rather brutal with rowdy students." the proctor spoke in a lower voice, as if trying to hide something.
"Curious..." Pef mumbled as he walked towards the door golem and poked it with a finger.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
'Student identified: Pef Xi, Daoist designation Divine Cook, Academy status: first term. Courses completed: zero. Infractions: zero. Secondary identity confirmed: Veritas Legion, Sergeant Major rank. User mode detected. Passive mission: defense priority, non-lethal mode. Active missions: zero.' the golem spoke in Pef's mind, confirming his suspicions.
'Active mission request: report suspicious behavior or ongoing threats. Active mission request: advice on Academy opportunities.' Pef demanded with a faint smile. His glove had been quite busy since they last met.
'Processing. New status: active missions: 2. Mission 1: full report to be unpacked once user gains privacy. Mission 2: field test probable next day, infiltrate or destroy underground entity in Celestial City.' the golem answered in a mechanical manner, reminding Pef of the time when his glove reverted to factory settings.
A tingling in his mind remined Pef that a large information packet had been transfered but was not unpacked, probably as to not arise too many suspicions.
Continuing to move forward as if nothing happened, Pef arrived outside the hall to find an indigo-haired man with indigo eyes waiting for him, but looking rather battered, as if he had been in a tough fight.
"You must be the new student." the man said in a confident tone, while the faint aura of some Time Dao skill covered the area they were standing in.
Pef's wife, Lady Yue had similar abilities, and Pef had learned to recognize them, and even defend against some Time skills.
"And you must be the orientation guy. But I must say, you're not looking too good, did someone kick your ass on the way here?" Pef asked with faint amusement, while stealthily crafting several protective Formations close to his skin, excluding himself from whatever magic was going on. .
The man's eyes glinted with light, and he began again, as if they never met. "You must be the new student."
"And you must be a moron. Now stop talking and just point me toward my lodgings." Pef demanded in a harsher voice. A few seconds of Time return would not fool him.
"Damn commoner! Do you even know who you're talking to?" the indigo-haired man yelled in outrage.
"An idiot who saw fit to assault me the second we met?" Pef replied in a sarcastic tone, then waved his hand to slap to moron away, shattering his teeth and hurling him away.
"...I am, ghr, Jade..." the man growled as he picked himself up.
Pef slapped him again, and then froze his throat with mild pulse of Water Dao. "I think I told you to stop talking, idiot. Don't they teach you to respect a higher realm in this place?" he muttered as he picked up the Jade guy and dragged him along towards where he thought the student courtyards were.
Strangely enough, the nearby golem did not intervene, and Pef kept walking, leaving a trail of blood and broken teeth in his wake.
Half way towards the courtyard, another battered person arrived, this time a girl wearing a black tree symbol on her blue robe.
"I see you met the class leader." the girl spoke in a pained voice, as if she was barely standing on her feet.
Pef glanced down, where the Jade guy still struggled to scream something, even with a frozen throat. "Hey, I just met this guy when he attacked me with a Time skill. Then kept yelling at me..."
"Normally, student conflicts are conducted in the Honor Ring. It is strange he would attack you openly, he just fought me for the right to be your orientation guide." the girl said in a softer voice.
"Aha, so he's a criminal then. What's the normal punishment?" Pef asked in curious tone, then kicked the class leader in the face, just for kicks.
"...Thousand Hells detention." the girl answered with a shiver.
"Nice, we have a Hell of our own here?" Pef wondered as more people came out to observe the strange occurrence, even pointing at the waste laying at his feet.
Space wobbled for a second and a person wearing a full suit of Eternium armor arrived, spreading her wings wide. "Attacking a new student with an undocumented Skill, without reason or provocation. Conspiracy and premeditation to commit said act, even deceiving your teacher to obtain a favorable angle of attack. Three months detention!" the Eternium Knight proclaimed in a harsh voice, then waved her hand to deliver the criminal into the Thousand Hells.
"...Teacher!" the nearby girl exclaimed and bowed to a perfect 90 degree angle, while trembling in fear for no reason.
Pef simply extended his hand to tug at the closest wing, and concluded it was indeed the bee wing he had worked hard to obtain in another world.
"Divine Cook, try to maintain decorum in the Academy. Whatever Lower Heaven you came from, we don't touch people without permission here. And don't let this incident cloud your views of the Celestial Academy. We strive to maintain a proper learning environment here, even if some scum occasionally makes problems. Now follow me to your new courtyard, as we seem to lack your current orientation guide." the Eternium Knight spoke in a milder voice, then picked up Pef with a single hand and flew towards a distant courtyard.
Looking after them, the girl from the Yin Wood Sect frowned, as the unexpected chance flew from her grasp. Still, it was even better like this, with the Jade House scion out of the way for three months. There would be more opportunities to make contact with this Divine Cook.