"What kind of courses does the Warfare Department offer?"
"Nothing more than techniques for killing and avoiding being killed. Once you're at the academy, you'll come to understand them gradually."
"Why are we called the Warefare Department?"
"To end killing, one must kill. Only then can war be stopped."
The questions and answers continued. Someone felt that Xia Yanbing's explanation was too grim and asked a lighter question. However, Xia Yanbing's answer was even colder.
"These are the words of the dean, and also the principle that Qingluan Academy strictly upholds." Seeing some students clearly shaken, Xia Yanbing added calmly, "Qingluan Academy will teach you many principles that the outside world might not accept. You can choose not to follow them. Our academy merely lays the path—whether you walk it, how you walk it, or if you walk it at all, is your choice."
Beside Lin Xi, Li Kaiyun was visibly shocked. He looked at the black-haired man walking ahead and at Xia Yanbing, who was firm as stone. "The academy doesn't care whether we agree with its principles?"
Xia Yanbing's tone remained blunt: "That's a foolish question. Let me give a simple analogy. The academy gives you a blade and tells you whom you may or may not kill. But once you leave the academy with that blade, how can the academy possibly control what changes in your heart or who you decide to kill?"
"But there's always right and wrong. If a graduate acts wrongly, wouldn't the academy intervene?" a scholarly-looking new student argued passionately.
Xia Yanbing looked at him and replied calmly, "What is right and wrong? One kind of right and wrong is determined by those powerful enough to define it. The other is judged by those who come after."
The scholarly student blushed and wanted to argue further, but Lin Xi suddenly spoke up: "What Teacher Xia means is that everyone has their own internal scale. Right and wrong ultimately exist in our own hearts."
Xia Yanbing didn't reply, but gave Lin Xi a surprised and approving glance. Even the black-haired man turned to look at Lin Xi.
By now, Lin Xi was calm. Not originally from this world, he wasn't as dogmatic as the others. The academy's philosophy, which mirrored rules from his previous world, was naturally easier for him to accept.
"How many credits does a basic course offer? What can they be exchanged for?" Lin Xi asked practically, tightening the warm black cloak around him.
"A basic course, if passed, grants about two or three credits. These credits can be exchanged for items worth about a hundred taels of gold," Xia Yanbing replied while walking. "But the items you exchange credits for—like the cloaks you're wearing—are valued based on material costs. Most cannot be bought through normal channels outside."
An uproar followed.
Even for the golden spoon youths, a hundred taels of gold was no small amount. And from Xia Yanbing's tone, it seemed these items were unique to the academy—meaning buying them outside might cost several times more.
"So one credit is that valuable. No wonder Professor Qin said Meng Bai was lucky." Lin Xi couldn't help but smile bitterly, remembering how one university credit used to cost 80 yuan.
Then he asked again, "The initial test—what exactly was it testing?"
Some students rolled their eyes. To them, it seemed like another foolish question. But Xia Yanbing, perceiving Lin Xi's deeper confusion, patiently explained:
"The power we cultivate is called soul force. The stronger the soul force, the more powerful one is in battle. Some are born able to cultivate faster than others. Even if two people take the same medicine, one may gain more soul force than the other. The soul-measuring stone reveals one's natural talent in cultivating soul force."
Lin Xi paused in thought, then asked, "Why did we have to choose a weapon in the entrance trial?"
Xia Yanbing answered slowly, "Over decades of trials, our academy has found that under the pressure of that environment, a candidate's instinctual weapon choice not only reflects their personality but also often aligns with the weapon most suited to them. It can even reveal certain talents."
"Such a simple entrance test actually involves psychology and vast statistical data?" Lin Xi was amazed, realizing he had underestimated the academy.
"Is the method for cultivating soul force unique to the academy?"
"Of course not. Methods of cultivation are largely similar. What sets us apart is that our academy's techniques and traditions dramatically increase the cultivation speed and combat effectiveness of our students—making them elite figures in the empire."
"Anyone can forge a sword, but our academy makes faster swords." Xia Yanbing admired Lin Xi and saw him as a naive youth from the frontier, so he explained everything gently and thoroughly.
Lin Xi's persistent questioning made the conversation feel like a one-on-one dialogue with Xia Yanbing, which annoyed some arrogant students.
"What kind of traditions does Qingluan Academy have? Were they all established by Dean Zhang?" asked Qiu Lu, a young golden-robed student who had previously quarreled with Lin Xi over a carriage.
Xia Yanbing smiled faintly and looked toward the distant Ascension Mountains. "Dean Zhang did indeed leave behind many unique traditions—some are rules, some are habits. You'll learn them once you're at the academy."
"Do the teachers understand the meanings behind these traditions—like why we use terms like 'department,' 'lecturer,' and 'professor'?" Lin Xi asked again, cutting in before Qiu Lu could speak.
"Dean Zhang never explained these names. But just like the term 'War,' they surely have special meaning," Xia Yanbing said seriously. "Dean Zhang left us with two sayings: 'Reverence leads to discipline. Tradition builds faith.' The most important tradition of Qingluan Academy is that all new students must receive Dean Zhang's admonition on their first day."
Lin Xi was stunned. "I thought the dean isn't at the academy anymore?"
Xia Yanbing nodded. "That's right. He left behind a monument before departing. His teachings are inscribed on it. Every year, new students must receive this admonition—it's our most sacred tradition."
"What does the monument say?" Qiu Lu blurted out, flustered and unsure what he meant to ask.
Many students sneered. How could a teacher reveal the dean's admonition?
Xia Yanbing shook his head. "No one knows. The monument contains inscriptions in symbolic runes. No professor has been able to decipher them."
"Unintelligible runes?" Lin Xi furrowed his brows, lost in thought.
"What could it mean?"
"If even the professors can't figure it out, how could we possibly understand?" students murmured.
...
A line of students in luxurious black cloaks walked silently across the autumn plains under the night sky. The questions and answers continued.
"Teacher, why do only we have to keep walking while the other departments are resting? Isn't food important? When do we eat and rest?" someone asked lazily, feeling more comfortable around Xia Yanbing.
"Don't be too soft on them, Xia Yanbing," the black-haired man said lazily. "As the border army says: A gentle whip won't make the horse run faster."
Xia Yanbing nodded and asked, "Do you know why most candidates want to join the Warfare Department?"
Li Kaiyun was the first to reply: "Because it's the closest path to glory."
"Not everyone thinks like you," Xia Yanbing said, shaking his head. "The Warfare Department isn't necessarily the closest to glory—but it's usually the closest to real death."
"Other departments also face the battlefield and danger. But our Zhige Department exists specifically for leading troops, warfare, and assassination. You'll face life-and-death situations more often than others. Your enemies will also be elite and well-trained. In such battles, survival depends entirely on who worked harder and who is better."
"If the entire empire is a bow, then our graduates are its arrows—lethal, but most likely to break. So you must become as hard and sharp as possible... The more exhausted your body, the more it strengthens your willpower. This is one form of cultivating soul force."