Zither Emperor

Chapter 8 – Registration Crisis (IV)

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Even though the competition’s timeline sounded complicated, Yin Zhu was able to remember it in its entirety—all due to his exceedingly powerful memory. In his heart, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat embarrassed. It would be fine if he could just announce that he was the only one participating, but he needed a total of five people. Was the Divine Music division really trash? Just a moment ago, Xue Ling, Lan Xi, and Hai Yang all seemed to be in favor of the competition. Excluding Hai Yang, however, Xue Ling’s and Lan Xi’s spiritual powers were clearly not strong enough, not to even mention they were still missing a person. No wonder Luo Lan looked at him like that. As it turned out, just participating in the Freshman Competition was a challenge.

It was out of the question. He would compete no matter what, even if he was alone. In the end, he still wanted to join. With these thoughts in mind, he asked, “Fei Si Qie La, what are the rules for the competition? Five matches, three wins?”

Fei Si Qie La said, “There are three options. Prior to the match, both parties must agree on an option. One option is holding five matches, whichever side reaches three wins will be victorious. Another option is having both teams fight a team battle, five against five. The final option is to start with one player who will continue to fight until he is defeated. This player will then be replaced by one of his teammates upon defeat. If he is strong, then he can accept challenge after challenge. For them to be victorious, however, all of the students on the opposite team have to be defeated.”

“Well, this is the best.” Hearing the last option, Ye Yin Zhu couldn’t help but resolve his heart. This was something he chose to do, so he should be fair and go alone. At worst, he would have to defeat opponent after opponent. He was still unaware, however, of the strength of those whom he would face.

The Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts was indeed humongous. It took two and a half hours of running to travel from the registration office to the mixed district dormitories. Fei Si Qie La was surprised, even he was gasping for breath. Meanwhile Yin Zhu seemed to be fine as his complexion hadn’t changed in the slightest.

“Here, room 623.” Fei Si Qie La pointed a finger at one of the bungalows. As expected, the sign that hung from the top had ‘Room 623’ written on it.

“Thank you, Fei Si Qie La,” Yin Zhu said gratefully.

Fei Si Qie La smiled and said, “No need for thanks. If you really want to thank me, then call me when the beautiful ladies of the Divine Music division are exercising, Idol!”

“Oh, okay.” Ye Yin Zhu didn’t understand the implicit meaning behind Fei Si Qie La’s words. He assumed that other people were naturally good natured, so he automatically agreed.

Fei Si Qie La left. Alone, Yin Zhu arrived in front of room 623 and used his key to open the door. Just as he was about to set foot in his future dormitory, he noticed there was already a petite figure bustling around inside.

The work-study dormitory was really small and pathetic. One person could barely squeeze into the bathroom. The so-called living room only allowed two people to properly sit. As for the bedroom, there was practically no open space with the two beds and a table crammed inside. The petite figure at this moment was bustling around, cleaning with very swift movements. His whole body was dressed in simple but neat grey clothing. His height approximately reached Yin Zhu’s chest. It was quite obvious that his grey clothing hadn’t been tailored, as it appeared to be somewhat loose. His hands were quite delicate, but they were very nimble. Room 623 was very small, so he had already cleaned the majority of the room.

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“Hello,” Yin Zhu called out to the petite figure.

Upon hearing someone enter, the person inside turned around. A handsome yet pale face appeared in front of Yin Zhu. Long brown hair rested on his shoulders, and his pair of big eyes were brimming with cleverness. His body, however, did not have a healthy complexion. He appeared to be malnourished. The moment he spotted Yin Zhu, he completely blanked out and let the cleaning rag slip from his hand without noticing.

Thinking that he may have scared the other person, Yin Zhu hurriedly said, “I am also living in this dorm. Are we roommates?”

“Eh?” The petite student reacted to his words and quickly replied, “Yes! It’s just a small room, but please come in.” He stooped down to pick up the cleaning rag from the floor. Through his clever eyes, a flash of astonishment could be seen.

Yin Zhu walked into the bedroom. He didn’t have any luggage, so he only placed his school uniform bundle down onto an empty bed. “Hello, I am called Yin Zhu.” He extended a hand towards the petite student during his greeting.

“Hello, just call me Sura for now. Ah! Your hand.” Sura gripped Yin Zhu’s hand and realized that he only had four fingers.

Yin Zhu said indifferently, “It’s nothing. I was naturally born like this. I only have eight fingers you see.” He stretched out his other hand and shook it in front of Sura as he spoke.

“Fortunately, it’s just the pinky finger. It doesn’t affect anything,” Sura smiled. “What division are you from?”

Ye Yin Zhu replied, “I am a part of the Divine Music division.”

“Divine Music division? You are a Divine Music mage?” Sura stared at Yin Zhu, dumbstruck.

Yin Zhu forced a smile and said, “Why are you so astonished that I’m in the Divine Music division?”

Sura laughed and answered, “I’m afraid it’s quite surprising to see a male studying to be a Divine Music mage. After all, it is a useless vocation.”

Yin Zhu laughed and replied, “You sure are honest. They all say that Divine Music mage is a trash mage. Oh wow, you’re really hardworking; this dormitory is swept clean. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Sura repeatedly waved his hand and said, “No thanks, I can do it myself. Look at how small this room is. When I came here, it was really filthy though. So how about you give me a silver coin as a form of payment.”

“A silver coin?” Ye Yin Zhu stared blankly at him.

Sura awkwardly laughed and said, “Yes! In this world, things require payment. You see, I labored for many hours here making everything look neat.”

Ye Yin Zhu came to a realization. He looked at Sura’s malnourished appearance and didn’t comment. He retrieved a tenth of his money and handed a single gold coin over to Sura. “I only have this. I don’t have silver coins.”

Sura snatched the gold coin from Yin Zhu’s palm and then stared at it. His eyes were filled with intoxication and greed. “Of course, a gold coin is better. How about I maintain our dormitory’s sanitation from now on. This will be your payment to me for three months, okay? Furthermore, since you are also a work-study student, we cannot eat in the dining hall. We have to prepare food for ourselves in the dormitory. But don’t worry, I prepare wonderful meals. You just have to give me three gold coins a month. The institution’s dining hall costs ten gold coins a month, a price which it is certainly not worth.” He held three fingers up towards Yin Zhu as he spoke, his face full of excitement.

“Oh, okay.” Yin Zhu fished out three gold coins and handed them over to Sura . “Sura, what is your specialization?”

“Me? I am a part of the Assassin division, which is considered to be a dishonorable division specialization. You see, isn’t my build one that’s best suited towards assassination?”

“Assassination!” Yin Zhu couldn’t help but admire Sura with envy. He heard his grandfather say,‘Assassin is a very difficult profession to practice. It is one that never defends and is always on the attack. Those in this profession rely on concealment and other special abilities to attain their target. Once mobilized, their opponent must kill them or be done for.’ Sura’s lithe, agile build suited this vocation awfully well.

“Then is your Assassin division participating in the Freshman Competition?”

Sura stared at Yin Zhu with amazement. “Are you joking? What kind of an assassin would want to be on stage with other people in a just and honorable competition? That’s not something for an assassin. Don’t tell me you want to participate.”

Ye Yin Zhu nodded. “Yes! I have already decided to participate.”