A drill instructor was instructing the new recruits when he noticed someone approaching him. Turning around, he saw the two freshmen he had just praised. He couldn't help but ask, "What is it?"

Ries glanced at Angélia, knowing his senior was not one for many words, so he took it upon himself to speak. "Instructor, my senior and I just wanted to inform you that we'll be leaving shortly."

"What?" The instructor was momentarily stunned. "Where are you going?"

"This..." Ries truly didn't know how to answer, as Zhong Shenxiu had only told them both that someone would pick them up for special training later; he hadn't specified where.

"Is there something you can't say?" The instructor’s demeanor remained gentle.

"A little bit." Ries had to take the offered out.

The instructor pondered for a moment, then said, "This area is very dangerous. You cannot move around freely. Since we brought you out, we are responsible for you!"

Ries managed an awkward smile. "Instructor, my senior and I are not here to ask for leave."

"Then why are you here?" The instructor was becoming quite confused.

"We are just informing you!" Ries's smile grew even more strained.

Uh!

The instructor finally grasped the implication behind Ries’s words: whether he agreed or not, they were leaving. Informing him was merely to let him know about the situation!

"Wait here a moment, both of you!" With that, the instructor went to find the homeroom teacher for Ries and Angélia.

Their homeroom teacher was a middle-aged man, not very tall, with a round face and a flat nose. Despite his unassuming appearance, he had been teaching at the "Home-Sitting Magic and Martial Arts Academy" for five years.

"Ries, Angélia, you two are leaving?" the middle-aged man asked with a strange look on his face.

Ries nodded. He didn't want to repeat himself, and the instructor had surely relayed everything he had just said.

"But this is the 'Damp Forest,' and you could encounter magical beasts at any moment!" the middle-aged man inquired.

"We know that!"

"If you know that, why are you still leaving? You should know that leaving the group without permission is very dangerous. This place is not like the Academy!" The middle-aged man continued to persuade them earnestly.

"Teacher, you don't need to persuade us anymore. Our minds are made up. We are only telling you so that you won't worry!" Ries said as calmly as possible.

Uh!

The middle-aged man had not expected Ries’s attitude to be so firm; he wasn't usually like this. What was going on today?

"Angélia, what about you?" Seeing he couldn't convince Ries, the middle-aged man shifted his gaze to Angélia.

Angélia replied with a few simple words: "The same as him!"

After some negotiation, the middle-aged man required Ries and Angélia to write a letter of guarantee. It didn't need to be long—just a statement that "both take full responsibility for any consequences of leaving without permission."

Once the guarantee was written, the middle-aged man couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "When will you two be back?"

"That's not clear yet!" Ries replied.

"But you must at least know what you are going to do, right?" the middle-aged man pressed again.

Just then, a childish voice drifted over from not far away: "They are coming with me!"

Everyone turned toward the sound and was stunned to see two small children. The instructors were particularly surprised to see children in such a dangerous location.

The middle-aged man seemed to recognize Zhong Shenxiu. He knew this was the young teacher who was causing such a stir among the other faculty members, so after his initial shock, he quickly regained his composure.

Upon seeing Zhong Shenxiu, Ries and Angélia stopped speaking and walked straight toward him.

To be honest, neither of them truly wished to participate in this drill. It wasn't that they feared hardship; it was simply that this kind of military training was useless to them. Having followed Zhong Shenxiu for so long, they had long since learned wilderness survival, even gathering their own food on the spot!

When they heard Zhong Shenxiu intended to give them special training, they were inwardly thrilled, knowing they could become much stronger again. Zhong Shenxiu had been preoccupied with his own affairs these past few days and had no time to guide them, which had caused them to hit a slight bottleneck.

"Um..." The middle-aged man intended to ask Zhong Shenxiu a few questions, but Zhong Shenxiu gave him no opportunity, turning directly around and leading his group away.

"Teacher Nar, who are those two children?"

The instructor couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer. He simply couldn't fathom why children would be here, and what was even stranger was that those two students seemed far more respectful toward these children than they had ever been toward him.

"They are new teachers at our Academy," Nar sighed and said.

He, too, couldn't figure out what had possessed the school administrators to hire children as teachers, and rumors suggested they had been brought in with exorbitant salaries.

The instructor was clearly stunned and took a long time to process the information.

In another area, the students of Class Four were busy constructing thatched huts.

Because they were all born into nobility, they had never done any manual labor since childhood, so...

Eventually, the instructors couldn't bear to watch anymore and stepped in to help. If they didn't, at the current pace, not a single hut would be finished by the day after tomorrow.

Just as they were putting the finishing touches on a hut, a voice rang out clearly, startling the group of youths!

"Class Two, assemble!"

The voice was too familiar; it would be hard for Wayne and the others to forget it!

Moving faster than even well-trained soldiers, they snapped into a line, nervously scanning their surroundings to locate the source of the voice.

Finally, on the side of their bodies, they caught a glimpse of Zhong Shenxiu, Robin, and two unfamiliar freshmen approaching them!

The four instructors also saw Zhong Shenxiu and his group and were genuinely startled. They thought, Aren't these the two kids we saw back at the Academy? How... how could they be here? He shouldn't have followed us!

While the four were bewildered, Zhong Shenxiu’s group walked over.

"Today, I'll give you your second lesson!" Zhong Shenxiu said leisurely.

The first lesson had shown them how to completely break a person down; what this second lesson would cover was truly hard to guess.

When Wayne and the others heard Zhong Shenxiu’s words, their bodies trembled. In their eyes, Zhong Shenxiu was the type of figure who was rarely seen; usually, it was hard enough just to catch a glimpse of him, let alone have him teach them. They hadn't expected him to take the initiative to teach them today. Would it be as spectacular as the last time?

They felt anticipation mixed with a touch of tension!

The four instructors looked at Zhong Shenxiu with strange expressions. They had almost laughed out loud just now because the tone and demeanor Zhong Shenxiu used when speaking gave off an air of false maturity!

This kid is really amusing!

Is he going to teach these students how to play house?

Various strange and amusing thoughts flashed through the minds of the four, adding a little amusement to their tedious day.

However, they soon found they could no longer remain so relaxed!

"You have three minutes to prepare, then follow me!" At this moment, Zhong Shenxiu's voice came again.

The four instructors initially paid little attention, but when they saw the students starting to pack their belongings, they couldn't stand idly by. The seriousness returned to one instructor's face as he asked, "Wait a moment, where are you taking them?"

Zhong Shenxiu looked up at him but instead asked, "Why should I tell you?"

Gasp!

The instructor hadn't expected Zhong Shenxiu to be so blunt, his mannerisms conveying a sense that he held the instructor in utter disregard. Yet, he couldn't lose his temper, as the other party was a child; arguing with him would only make him a laughingstock!

Calming his temper, the instructor said gravely, "This is a military training period. You cannot go anywhere!"

Their mission was to train these new recruits. If the recruits disappeared, what was the point of their training?

"Oh?" Zhong Shenxiu smiled instead of getting angry. He looked at the instructor and said, "Then ask them whether they listen to you or to me!"

Although this statement was directed at the instructor, Wayne and the others couldn't help but shiver when they heard it, feeling as if a block of ice had been placed on their backs!

Without hesitation, they quickly gathered their gear and stood obediently next to Zhong Shenxiu, awaiting instructions. There was no need to ask; their actions provided the answer!

The instructors were dumbfounded again. They hadn't expected these new recruits to be so obedient to this little brat. Logically, these noble-born students should be difficult to manage, so why were they so compliant with this boy?

Moreover, their expressions didn't look like an act. Just what method had this little boy used to make them so obedient?

They couldn't fathom it; they truly couldn't understand!

When Zhong Shenxiu was their age, he was probably still running around the streets in split pants, not serving as a teacher in a major academy!

Seeing Zhong Shenxiu’s group genuinely turn to leave, the four instructors became anxious and simultaneously accelerated, blocking the path of Zhong Shenxiu’s group!

They had experience as instructors, but they had never encountered a situation like this. Who would have thought a homeroom teacher would lead students to evade military training? That was the sort of thing that required a flashlight to find!

The atmosphere instantly became tense. However, not a trace of tension showed on Zhong Shenxiu's face. Perhaps the word "tension" didn't even exist in his vocabulary!

"Move aside, we need to pass," Zhong Shenxiu said, still smiling.

These instructors clearly hadn't realized who they were blocking. They said something that sounded deliberately provocative:

"As long as we are here, you must stay here for training!"

"Oh?" The smile on Zhong Shenxiu's face grew wider. "Does that mean if we beat you down, we can leave?"