Each new student had their own independent courtyard, not needing to share with others.
Bai Ran entered her own courtyard and released Zhu Que from her spatial storage, who had been clamoring to come out.
The Zhu Que in her spatial storage had been in a deep slumber ever since it transformed into its original form last time.
However, upon entering the Star Gathering Academy, the little Zhu awoke and excitedly shouted from within the storage, "It's him, it's him! Master, quickly let me out!"
"Tell me, who is he?" Bai Ran asked.
"It's Bai Hu!"
Zhu Que's fiery red wings flapped, brimming with excitement.
Bai Hu?
Bai Hu, surprisingly, was not in his usual habitat but at the Star Gathering Academy?
Bai Ran felt a sense of helplessness. Was she destined to collect all four of them?
Shi Tian curled his lips: She gained an advantage yet pretended to be reluctant.
After tidying up her courtyard, she went to attend the Alchemist class that afternoon.
The moment she entered the classroom, she felt many unfriendly gazes following her all the way in.
"A transfer student?"
"Doesn't her face surpass Shangguan Xi, the academy's most beautiful woman, by quite a bit?"
"She looks like a mere vase; she must have no real skills."
At first glance, they were stunned by Bai Ran's appearance, but then they immediately thought that perhaps she had achieved her entry into the academy through some illicit means, relying solely on her looks.
The number of quota students was extremely small, with perhaps one appearing only once every few years, so it was understandable that they wouldn't know about her.
The teacher had not yet arrived, which was why they dared to be so arrogant. Bai Ran paid them no mind and found a seat to sit down.
"Hey, transfer student, tell us how you got in. We want to hear the details, hahahaha!"
A tall, thin boy with narrow eyes, who clearly looked rather lewd, said with a wicked grin.
"Hahahaha!" A burst of laughter erupted from the classroom.
Bai Ran frowned and looked at the tall, thin man.
"Do you have a dueling arena here?"
"Of course. What, you want to spar with me? With a face as beautiful as a flower, be careful not to get injured, hahaha!"
Bai Ran stood up, checked the time. There were still ten minutes before class, which was enough.
She walked closer to the tall, thin man and met his gaze.
"Lead the way."
Oh? This woman really intended to fight him?
Then don't blame him for being impolite!
The man felt his dignity challenged and immediately led Bai Ran towards the dueling arena, followed by a crowd eager to watch. The classroom was instantly empty.
As the group walked along the road, they attracted a lot of attention. Upon hearing that a newcomer was challenging a senior student, others also joined the procession.
By the time the group reached the dueling arena, the crowd had multiplied several times over.
The two stood on the arena.
"My beauty, with your slender arms and legs, don't blame me if I injure you."
Alchemists primarily cultivated alchemy, and their combat strength was generally not high. However, the woman before him looked so delicate and weak, it was unlikely she couldn't be defeated.
Thinking this, the tall, thin man's confidence surged.
"I'll send the same words back to you."
Bai Ran squeezed her wrist, and her joints clicked.
The tall, thin man was enraged. He unleashed his Qi Condensation ninth-stage spiritual power and fiercely threw a punch at Bai Ran.
Bai Ran did not dodge. She merely extended a finger and blocked the man's punch.
Immovable?
No matter how hard the tall, thin man struggled, he couldn't advance an inch further. He began to panic.
"Hey, Gao Yu, why are you going easy on her!"
"Yeah! Don't hold back just because the girl is pretty!"
The onlookers below scoffed at Gao Yu's apparent lack of effort.
"Shut up, all of you!"
He roared, then swung his other hand at Bai Ran.
She grabbed Gao Yu's wrist and twisted it. Gao Yu spun around and was then slammed forcefully to the ground, creating a pit in the arena floor. He lost consciousness shortly after.
"Is this the strength of the alchemists at Star Gathering Academy? All talk, no substance. Truly useless."
She glanced at the crowd below.
They had been staring blankly at the unconscious Gao Yu. In the next second, her words instantly ignited the anger of all the alchemists present.
"Bitch! How dare you be so arrogant! I'll beat you to death!"
"I'm so angry! Don't hold me back! I'm going to beat her half to death!"
Dozens of alchemists surged towards Bai Ran, their auras fierce.
A slight smile curved Bai Ran's lips. This was more like it. How could cultivators lack a bit of fiery spirit?
Five breaths later.
Bai Ran clapped her hands, walked off the arena, and returned to the classroom.
Meanwhile, the arena was piled high with unconscious alchemists who had been beaten, forming a small mountain. On the side, disciples from other academies who had come to watch witnessed this horrific scene and panicked, rushing to find their mentors.
Bai Ran returned to the empty classroom and casually sat in the front row.
"Only you? Where are the others?"
The instructor walked in, seeing only one person sitting quietly in the classroom, and found it rather strange.
"They're not feeling well, so they've taken leave," Bai Ran lied to the instructor, her heart unmoved.
The instructor looked puzzled but still began his lecture.
This class taught the process of forming pills for second-tier alchemists. Bai Ran was so bored she almost fell asleep.
She never would have imagined that not only was the skill level of those alchemists so poor, but their alchemy was also mediocre. Even the instructor at Star Gathering Academy was only a fifth-tier alchemist.
During class, Bai Ran pondered returning her Alchemist Academy token.
After class, Bai Ran returned to her courtyard and saw several elders gathered in front of it.
"Elder Hong, I..."
"Oh my, Ancestor, you're finally back."
A group of elders suddenly surrounded her. Elder Hong asked excitedly, "You beat up everyone in the Alchemist Branch by yourself?"
"I did," Bai Ran replied doubtfully.
Could it be that they wanted her to pay compensation?
"Those disciples who were beaten have all quit the Alchemist Branch and gone to the Spiritual Energy Branch, saying they won't return until they've beaten you down. What are we going to do?"
Elder Liu from the Alchemist Branch said with distress.
Bai Ran pondered for a moment, "Then let them cultivate both."
"Cultivate both? Cultivate both what? This situation could easily lead to inner demons! I don't care, you caused this trouble, you deal with it."
Elder Hong said shamelessly.
"Understood."
Bai Ran responded helplessly, tossed the Alchemist Branch token to Elder Hong, and left.
Elder Hong looked at the token in his hand, stroked his beard, and nodded with satisfaction.
This girl finally came to her senses, realizing the pressure of multiple cultivations. Excellent, excellent.
An hour later, news spread again that Bai Ran had single-handedly crushed the Alchemist Academy, revealing everyone's alchemy skills.
Those who had just joined the Spiritual Energy Branch sheepishly returned to the Alchemist Branch.
They couldn't win in combat, nor could they win in alchemy. Where did this monster come from?
Instantly, Bai Ran's notorious act of disrupting the Alchemist Branch spread like wildfire from one branch to another, then from ten to a hundred, quickly becoming known throughout the entire academy.
The entire academy became extremely curious about Bai Ran.
Elder Hong, upon hearing the news, twitched his beard. What was this?
Crushing everyone in the Alchemist Branch?
Did it mean that she returned the token not because she felt pressured, but because there was nothing left to learn in the Alchemist Academy?
Did that mean her alchemy skills were even higher than the instructors?
Having figured it all out, Elder Hong turned to stone in the wind.