Chapter Eight: The Watershed

Today is yet another peaceful day.

As Zhou Yi opened his eyes, this thought involuntarily crossed his mind.

After the completion of the Third Trial, this stalwart of the Student Council had finally entered a period of leisure. Unlike the grueling shifts at the Snow Burial Society, the Student Council’s work leaned more toward clocking in and out like a monk ringing the daily bell. The work log at the Sun Tower was always filled with an endless array of pending tasks, but if one was determined to coast along, beautiful campus days awaited ahead. As long as, come year’s end, you hadn’t slacked off to the point of failing even the minimum requirements, all would be well.

As for Zhou Yi, his vigorous activity during the Third Trial had nearly depleted his entire year’s worth of diligence points. The days that followed would be more than relaxing so long as he adopted a carefree attitude.

And Zhou Yi’s schedule for idling away was as precise as clockwork.

Perhaps no one could rival this man in the art of slacking off.

He opened his eyes in bed right at 7:30 a.m., just in time to see that his roommate had already left. At six in the morning, there was a morning exercise class that could earn a performance point. Any high-achiever would never miss it—after all, health is the foundation of all endeavors, and the professors at Nightleaf Academy were of the highest international caliber. Attending any class would leave you feeling it was worth your time.

But Zhou Yi insisted otherwise.

After all, boys needed their beauty sleep, too.

Upon getting up, Zhou Yi washed and dressed, then strolled leisurely downstairs in his uniform. The second floor of every dormitory tower served as a dining hall, open nearly all day and supplying meals to the entire academy.

But this time, as Zhou Yi reached the second floor, he found the vast dining hall nearly deserted.

Though it was eight in the morning, and Nightleaf Academy had more slackers than overachievers, based on Zhou Yi’s usual experience there should have been at least thirty or forty people in the dining hall at this hour—not this utter emptiness.

At that moment, a young man dashed past him like the wind. Zhou Yi immediately grabbed him. “Why is nobody here today? Did something major happen?”

It was supposed to be such a peaceful day.

“Senior Zhou Yi?” The young man, recognizing who had grabbed him, didn’t stop running. “Come run with me, and I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me what?” Zhou Yi was half-dragged along, though his pace was by no means slow.

“So you really don’t know.” The other sighed. “It’s about the Third Princess!”

“The Third Princess?” Zhou Yi instantly felt a nerve twitch within him, quickening his pace by fifty percent, surging ahead to take the lead. “What about the Third Princess?”

“Just follow me!” The young man sped up as well. Because they were running so fast, words could hardly be exchanged, and soon they let go of each other’s hands, transforming into two rabbits darting freely across campus.

And Zhou Yi soon noticed that these “rabbits” were multiplying.

Everywhere he looked, more and more Nightleaf students were running. Among them were familiar friends and passing acquaintances—boys dashing in from the Feather Tower, and even across from the academy, herds of girls from Ivy Tower surging over like a stampede of deer.

In all his memory, Zhou Yi had never witnessed such an absurd phenomenon. It was as if something had shaken the entire academy, driving everyone—whether they understood or not—toward a single destination.

The Sun Tower.

Had there not been strict no-flight regulations within the academy, the sky would likely have been filled with these frenzied students as well.

At this point, Zhou Yi and his companion had no choice but to stop. There were simply too many people ahead.

Nearly half the students of Nightleaf Academy had gathered in the plaza between the Sun, Moon, and Star Towers, and the crowd was still swelling. It was so densely packed that Zhou Yi couldn’t see what was at the center.

“What’s with all these people!” Zhou Yi complained, glancing at the classmate who had dragged him over. “Can you tell me now?”

“Wait, senior, let me catch my breath.” The other, clearly less fit, took a while to recover before explaining, “I was woken up by someone else. They said the Third Princess was giving out free drinks under the Sun Tower. I couldn’t believe it either, but they swore it was true and said if I didn’t hurry, there wouldn’t be any left. So I rushed over. Seeing all these people, maybe it really is true.”

Zhou Yi, hearing this, immediately jumped up.

He was, after all, a rather skilled wind mage. With the aid of Featherlight and Levitation spells, he managed to hover and leap high enough to see over the crowd.

Indeed.

They were on the outskirts of the throng, surrounded by curious onlookers. At the center, a clearing about ten meters wide had been cordoned off.

There, dressed in black, stood the Third Princess herself. Before her stretched a long line of students, its end lost in the crowd. Behind her was a massive glass vat, taller than a person, filled with some deep brown liquid. The princess herself was calmly operating the tap at the vat’s base, filling cups and handing them to each waiting student, her manner precise and unwavering.

Zhou Yi could hardly believe his eyes.

Who could possibly order the Third Princess to do something like this?

This was outright rebellion!

“This is exploitation and oppression!” Zhou Yi exclaimed angrily as he landed. “This abuse of the Third Princess must stop!”

“What did you see?” his companion pressed.

“A dreadful sight. Nothing good, that’s for sure. You’d best just leave,” Zhou Yi answered gravely.

“You want me to leave without telling me? No way,” the other shot back. “I haven’t even seen the Third Princess a handful of times since starting here. If she’s actually out here in the plaza, it must be something big. My friend said she’s giving every student a drink—is it true?”

Zhou Yi hesitated. He did instinctively want to reduce the competition—one less person meant a better chance for himself.

But on second thought, it was unrealistic. He’d have to queue up anyway, and sending the guy away would be unfair.

“It’s true. But this is absolutely not her own will—she must have been forced,” Zhou Yi declared. “Let’s get in line first. When we see the Third Princess, we’ll find out who’s really behind this!”

...

...

In the center of the crowd, the Third Princess stood as serene as ever.

Within ten meters of her, only a single, lonely line of students waited. Beyond that, a winding, seemingly endless queue snaked into the distance.

The young woman maintained absolute order within her ten-meter radius, quietly filling cups from the vat behind her.

Turning, she handed each cup to the student waiting before her, her face devoid of expression.

No words passed, no glances exchanged. The princess moved with the mechanical precision of an emotionless automaton, repeating her task again and again.

The students before her were like pilgrims before a saint—thanking her earnestly, then leaving in silence.

It was order so immaculate, it felt almost like a religious ritual.