𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧?
The current situation is too complex to explain to a novice.
Only by presenting oneself as someone with years of experience can you clarify the situation using the principle of “diligence compensates for lack of skill,” thereby gaining the acceptance of all.
Another benefit of doing this is to inspire everyone, uplifting even those with a poor sense of spirituality.
“How long have you been studying?” Deng Ying asked Jiang Chu.
“About eight years, I suppose,” Jiang Chu thought.
“Eight years already! But isn’t it around the age of ten when one’s spiritual sense awakens? You were awakened at eight?” Zhong Huai was greatly shocked.
Every profession has a minimum entry age, which serves as a natural protection for children.
For Divination Masters, the spiritual sense usually emerges around ten years old, which is when they can start studying.
For warriors, it’s a bit earlier, around eight years old.
Similarly, for alchemists and artisans, it’s around nine or ten years old.
There will be individual differences, but Jiang Chu starting her divination studies at eight is quite early.
“Yes,” Jiang Chu admitted.
Indeed, with her admission, others thought they found the root cause.
“So you’ve had an awakened spiritual sense for so long, years of uninterrupted study have indeed led to great improvement.”
“You’re amazing! You were such an incredible warrior before, and now you’re a Divination Master who is so accurate!”
“I’ve never seen a genius with a spiritual sense of 18 before. If Jiang Chu’s spiritual sense was 78, no, even 48 or 58 would be astounding!”
Everyone began to exclaim in admiration.
“Jiang Chu serves as a great example. Although her spiritual sense is low, her years of continuous study have made her so accurate. Among you, not many have a lower spiritual sense than hers. If she can do it, why can’t you?” Yuan Tu took the opportunity to teach the students a lesson, “So, don’t let me hear anyone say that having a low spiritual sense means there’s no hope. Having a low spiritual sense isn’t your fault, but not making an effort is.”
While Yuan Tu spoke, all nine students present listened attentively, including Hei Hou, who usually isn’t very focused.
“Let me repeat this for you all.”
Yuan Tu looked at everyone, “As you’ve seen, Divination College is not like Martial College; it cannot promise you a bright future! Those who have aspirations should not be complacent; set goals for yourselves and go after them.”
Jiang Chu frowned.
“Teacher Yuan, what do you mean by this?”
Deng Ying stood up.
“Yeah, why say this? What’s wrong with the college?”
“Has something happened?”
Everyone asked in unison.
“Our Divination College might not exist for much longer,” Yuan Tu finally said after a long silence.
“What? How could that be?”
“They’re trying to shut down Divination College again? But wasn’t the issue already resolved?”
“Exactly, you all voted before, and Divination College was saved, wasn’t it?”
“Our Divination College is already in such a bad state, with no resources. Does it bother the other divisions? If the college is shut down, what will happen to us students?” Hei Hou was furious and punched the ground.
“Teacher Yuan, can we try to plead again? Even if we don’t admit new students, can’t we just shut down Divination College after our batch graduates?” Zhong Huai also asked.
Yuan Tu shook his head in bitterness, “This time, it’s not an internal issue within the academy. It’s different from the last time.”
The previous time the Divination College faced closure, it was due to internal discord. People from other colleges thought Divination College was occupying a seat without contributing, thereby dragging down the overall quality of the academy. Hence, they wanted to shut it down.
However, Tong Kui had put a stop to that. Some other teachers also had a change of heart, and the final vote barely saved the Divination College.
But this time. . . . . .
“If it’s not internal, is it external? Who?” Yuan Fang was puzzled.
“The Divination Exchange Conference in Qingzhou is just three months away. It’s organized by Qingzhou Academy, and students from the Divination departments of all four major academies, as well as most of the Divination Masters in the state, will attend. As you know, it’s not just about exchanging ideas, but also about ranking,” Yuan Tu said. “If our college’s ranking is poor, it seems the higher-ups are contemplating closing down our Divination College.”
Deng Ying’s face became serious.
The Divination Exchange Conference has another name—
The All-State Divination Masters Competition!
That competition was what she and her family had agreed upon.
If she could rank among the top 50 in the state, she could continue on this path. Otherwise, she’d have to abandon Divination and switch to Martial College.
Unconsciously, the two-year deadline for her agreement was getting closer, but Deng Ying had no confidence.
She looked at Jiang Chu, feeling bitter—
Jiang Chu had simply studied longer and been more dedicated, surpassing her even with an 18-point spiritual sense. But when she looked around, there were many more above Jiang Chu. How could she possibly compete with all the Divination Masters in Qingzhou if she couldn’t even beat Jiang Chu?
At the time of making the bet, Deng Ying didn’t think it would be an issue. She was young and arrogant and had no idea how difficult reaching the top 50 would be. But now she knew—
Forget the top 50; even the top 500 might not include her.
To be fair, her limited progress was tied to the academy. Divination College had been neglected, with dwindling resources and even the Dean having other commitments. What she had learned here was hardly more than what she could have taught herself.
She had almost broken off relations with her family just to get into Yuxiao Academy. If she left now, she could never go elsewhere, and her family would never let her.
Would she really have to slink off to Martial College in defeat?
Not just that, if Divination College were really closed, she wouldn’t even have the option of staying.
“Is any academy at risk of being closed for poor performance, or just our Divination College at Yuxiao Academy?”
Jiang Chu questioned, puzzled.
“Ahem, Jiang Chu, our Divination College at Yuxiao Academy has always been at the bottom among the four major academies. So, practically, there’s no difference,” Liu Lu awkwardly reminded Jiang Chu.
Because if any college was at the bottom, it would definitely be Yuxiao Academy’s Divination College.
So, the message from the higher-ups was: unless Divination College at Yuxiao isn’t at the bottom, it will be disbanded.
“In that case, let’s just compete well and avoid being last,” said Jiang Chu, puzzled. “We still have three months. If we work hard, who knows, we might even surpass other departments.”
(End of Chapter)
