The gray-haired cat stepped onto the podium, jumped onto the table with the help of its hind legs, and patted the table with its paws.
“Hello, students. I am your counselor, Da Hui, and I will lead you for the next four years. I sent my contact information to the group, so please save it.”
After he spoke, there was a short pause before the students took out their phones and started checking them.
“First off, let me introduce to you our school, Xunhai Union University. It’s the country’s only multisectoral comprehensive university. It was established 231 years ago and has sent a large number of elites to the country. Its students are descendants of the human, monster, fairy, and demon races. All graduates are outstanding students, committed to maintaining the stability of the Three Realms, repairing the ancient life-long seal, spending and devoting their entire lives to protect the Three Realms till their end.”
The gray cat’s paws settled on the table, his voice solemn. He was silent for three seconds before continuing.
“Therefore, we have to briefly discuss the history of our various race alliances. A long time ago, the spiritual power of the world was drained and the three realms collapsed. In order to protect the survival of future generations, a giant seal was created from the human race’s luck. It covered the heavens and the earth, imprisoning the monsters who were poisoned by the spirits of chaos and evil and inflicted violence upon the land, and that same seal allowed the descendants to continue to live in this world.
“In the later period of the sealing, as the humans’ luck gradually reached its peak, their prosperity undoubtedly declined. The other races were unwilling to be suppressed, turmoil frequently occurred, and the seal was also shaken. Major disasters fell during this period, leading to heavy casualties and causing countless lives to be lost.
“In order to maintain the order in the world, the descendants of the Human Race, the Monster Race, the Fairy Race, the Witch Race, and the God Race established organizations to implement a new order to restrain each other. Various races signed this peace treaty in Xunhai. Among them, our predecessors from the Prefectural Government Office, the General Administration of Supernatural Processing, the Immortal Seal Sect, the Palace of Gods as well as the other groups appeared at that time.
“More than two hundred years ago, with the purpose of sending elite personnel into these institutions and nurturing outstanding offspring, many different races collaborated and founded Xunhai Union University.
“Xunhai Union University is funded by and stands united with all races and their subjects but it is a neutral group unbiased against any party. Students from Xunhai University do not participate in any party disputes. They enter various agencies as students of Xunhai University.”
Following the gray cat’s speech, the classroom was gradually immersed in the glorious era of all the races from long ago.
Illusory scenes appeared and faded within the classroom. Even when they merely scratched the surface, the students could already see the blood-stained history beneath it. From the beginning, in order to seek a ray of life, the Lich, Fairy, God, and Human Race collectively cast a great spell to envelop the world. Afterward, the spell eroded due to the chaos and pollution, thus, every single race sent their children to safeguard the seal.
(T/N: You may wonder what the lich here is. Lich originated from the 1976 Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game booklet Greyhawk, written by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz. Lich is a general term for any corpse, animated or inanimate. Therefore in this context, it is used to refer to immortals.)
Countless predecessors of each race were sacrificed for the sake of the seal, maintaining its stability with their flesh and blood, and protecting the people of every race who lived because of the ancient seal.
Each determined face was stained with blood.
Behind them were the ones who guarded the land that gave birth to them, their family, while ahead of them was what the elders of their family struggled for, the heavenly seal. They could not retreat even one step for this was their responsibility.
In the middle and late stages, a group of races gradually rebelled and embarked on another path. They did not want to sacrifice themselves but desired to rob the human race’s luck. They dispatched some of them unto the world, disrupted the laws of the court, attacked the heavenly bodies, and started a war where blood flowed into rivers. At the same time, there was a conflict between various races, each of them attempting to take advantage of the problem for their personal gain. For a period of time, the result of the war was unpredictable. It rapidly progressed until the luck of all the races rapidly decreased, almost triggering a heavenly punishment.
It was a very heavy and suffocating history from the beginning.
Afterward, several people from each race reconsidered and began to establish order and build various institutions. Xunhai General Assembly was founded two hundred years ago.
Xunhai Union University inherited the will of every race’s ancestors. They worked diligently, guarding the seal against the outside while killing demons inside.
“Xunhai Union University has undergone three relocations and two principals. In the course of this period, countless outstanding people emerged. On this very day, as you enter the school, you should set your predecessors as role models, keep the school rules and disciplines in mind, be diligent and studious.”
The students looked at the teacher on the podium in front of them earnestly, with excitement and determination within their eyes.
The gray cat teacher paused, raised his head, and solemnly said: “The motto of Xunhai Union University is to give oneself to the world. My hope is for you to remember this.”
The students stared at the university crest upon the podium, their hearts were agitated, but they themselves solemn.
The gray cat teacher nodded, looked at every student present, and paused for a second. He saw that the students had absorbed almost the same amount of information, all of them looking tragic and vigorous. He abruptly changed his tone into a relaxed one.
“These things are still far into your future. For the time being, it’s not yet your turn.” The gray cat teacher also smiled at them.
“Following that, I will discuss some matters you should pay attention to. I will provide the school regulations and motto later and every feline must practice this. Don’t wait until you are punished without knowing what you did wrong. There is no tuition fee for studying here, and living expenses are also subsidized. It will not make everyone’s life difficult, but if you desire to live a better life in school, hopefully, you can work hard to get a scholarship.”
Qi Xiaohan’s cat’s ears pricked up, and the kitten’s green eyes sparkled.
She came for a scholarship!
The gray cat teacher said, “The school is divided into five major courtyards, divided by the five attributes of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. Each courtyard is divided into multiple departments, such as the Dan Department, the Spell Department, the Sword School, the Control Department, the Assault Department, and so on. I belong to the Spiritual Power Control Major under the Control Department of the Fire Spirit Academy. A related course schedule will be announced during military training. After class, an app will be posted by the seniors to the group and you can log in to the software to check it yourself.”
The gray cat teacher continued, “In addition to that, in order for the students to be better employed, the college has established other independent departments outside the five colleges, such as the School of Computer Science and Technology, the School of Statistics, the School of Accounting, the School of Law, and such for each student. Before the end of the military training, you need to choose an academy to study. Everyone should hurry up and consider it.”
Teacher Gray Cat was a tad serious and talkative. He explained everything in detail, and the students stayed in the classroom until the evening.
……
At dinner, Xiao Mengmeng took off with her Dan senior sister while Qi Xiaohan was left eating with the other two big cat roommates.
Everyone planned to eat hot pot together, and using her paws, the little cat ran towards her dormitory.
Qi Xiaohan was the one who had brought the induction cooker to school, but before that, the lynx had already bought a pot.
The three cats dashed into the dormitory, closed its door, and began to take out the ingredients.
While waiting to add the ingredients into the pot, the three cats, their eyes turning green, gathered around it. They pawed the ground excitedly as they happily sniffed at its aroma.
(眼发绿 basically means “eyes turning green” means possessive, greed, desire, or want, a bit different from its English counterpart which is envy or jealousy)
“By the way, it’s going to be difficult using our paws, we should invite a sister over!”
The little cat meowed in annoyance and signaled her roommates to wait first, then she turned on her phone and sent messages to the group.
19 - Spirit Control - Qi Xiaohan: “I cooked hot pot in the dormitory, it’s going to be super delicious. Will you come over to eat with us? There are enough ingredients, it’s best to bring other sisters [cute cat.jpg]”
17 - The scum lion died away: “You want to invite a senior sister to help you with the hot pot? Cries in laughter”
19 - Spirit Control - Qi Xiaohan: [cute.jpg]
17 - The first handsome lion in the universe: “Hahahaha junior sister, do I need to bring my brother? My brother will take the initiative to sign up for that!”
17 - The scum lion died away: “Upstairs, how have you not been kicked out of the new group?”
18 - Old Mengxin: “Hey, I want to eat, can I sign up even when I’m not in human form?”
19 - Spirit Control - Qi Xiaohan: “Yes. I am in Building 20, 412.”
17 - Leopard Leopard is not fierce: “412, is that junior sister Ming’s dormitory? I’ll go over.”
17 - The scum lion died away: “I’ll be there later, and aren’t you on duty? @18 - Old Mengxin”
18 - Old Mengxin: “QAQ”
…
“Okay.” Qi Xiaohan put away the phone, “The senior sisters will be here in a bit, let’s put this aside for now.”
Because of that, the three cats’ eyes began to turn green as they circled around the pot, which became more and more fragrant.
So hungry…
“Is junior sister Xiaohan here?” There was a knock on the door of dormitory 412 and Lu Sha pushed it open with her side. She raised an eyebrow and looked at the three cats within the room.
Trailing after were Zhou Mingming’s direct sister, a snow leopard, and a tabby.
The tabby cat was the Old Mengxin from the group who was on duty in the office but wanted to eat hot pot as well. She was incidentally brought over by senior sister Lu Sha.
Qi Xiaohan and the three cats within the dormitory quickly stood up to greet their senior sisters. They took a couple more cushions and placed them next to the small table.
After all, the two senior sisters turned human form couldn’t just squat on the ground like cats. That would be inconvenient for them.