Feng Hao was unfazed by this sort of thing. Back during his school days on Earth, which grove wasn't littered with discarded "balloons" and filled with the sounds of babbling brooks? By comparison, this scene was practically innocent.
"Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the second-year area?" Feng Hao called out, stopping a tall, thin young man up ahead.
The tall, thin young man looked him over in surprise. "I'm a second-year student. Who are you looking for? I might know them."
"I'm looking for Miao Feng," Feng Hao said, pleasantly surprised.
"You know Miao Feng?" the tall, thin young man asked, shocked.
Feng Hao paused for a moment, then clicked his tongue. "What, is Miao Feng famous at the academy?"
"He had a bit of a reputation before because of Master Miao, but he got *really* famous after the school year started. I heard he jumped from level twelve to seventeen over a single break. Even his homeroom teacher was dumbfounded," the young man said with a look of envy.
"Oh," Feng Hao said in realization.
"Come with me, Miao Feng is in the class next to mine." The tall, thin young man was quite friendly, regaling Feng Hao with strange tales and gossip from the academy all the way there. He was practically a Grandmaster-level campus gossip.
The two soon arrived at the second-year building. After showing Feng Hao to the door of Miao Feng's classroom, the young man didn't linger. He hurriedly ducked into the adjacent classroom as if he had urgent business.
When he saw Miao Feng again, the kid was surrounded by a group of female classmates, shrunk into his seat with a beet-red face, stammering responses to the many beauties' questions.
Beyond that were the gazes of his male classmates, filled with envy, jealousy, and hate.
"Xiaomiaozi, come out and show your senior brother the way." Feng Hao cleared his throat, rescuing him from the fiery depths.
Seeing Feng Hao, Miao Feng was so moved he looked like he was about to burst into tears. Without a second word, he broke free from the "sea of flowers" and, without looking back, pulled Feng Hao out of the building.
"Sen—Senior Brother, you're finally here!" Miao Feng said, slightly out of breath.
"Tsk tsk, so how does it feel to be surrounded by beauties?" Feng Hao couldn't help but tease.
"It's worse than death!" Miao Feng said with a wry smile. "But let's not talk about that. Um... did you get your issue resolved?"
"More or less," Feng Hao said with a slight smirk, smugly pulling out his auditor's pass. "I am now a glorious auditor."
Miao Feng's face darkened. He had thought Xiyue Peak would have a good connection, but he never expected it to be this shoddy solution of becoming an auditor. "Senior Brother, why are you an auditor?"
"What else could I do? That old bastard Xiyue Peak was completely useless!" Feng Hao said helplessly.
"Senior Brother, you don't understand. Auditors are ostracized at the academy. Not just by the students—a lot of teachers will mock them too. Very few of the past auditors have ever lasted a full year," Miao Feng said, looking at him with a worried expression.
Feng Hao couldn't help but frown. 'It seems the class conflicts in this world are even more intense than I expected.'
"Don't worry about it. Your senior brother here has thick skin. I can take the cold shoulder or a hot temper, doesn't matter to me," Feng Hao said with a calm smile, reassuring Miao Feng.
"But..." Miao Feng started to say more, but Feng Hao cut him off.
"Relax, your senior brother isn't that easy to bully." Feng Hao chuckled and patted his shoulder, slinging an arm around him. "Let's go. Take me to the first-year building, and tell me about the academy on the way."
"Okay," Miao Feng nodded slightly and began telling Feng Hao about the academy's courses and general situation, though his eyes still held a clear trace of worry.
After Miao Feng's introduction, combined with the gossip-filled briefing from the tall, thin young man earlier, Feng Hao now had a comprehensive understanding of Rongcheng Academy.
After sending Miao Feng on his way, Feng Hao stepped into the first-year building alone. Unlike regular students, auditors had no class restrictions. As long as a class was in session, he could join in, and no one would stop him if he wanted to leave.
From what he'd gathered, there were a total of nine first-year classes, three of which were honors classes.
With the special privilege of being an auditor, Feng Hao was naturally going to hang out in the honors classes. 'I paid a fortune for this; I can't let it go to waste!'
'Huh, isn't that the Xiyue Family's second lass? Heh heh, this is the class for me.'
After looking around, he quickly locked onto the class Xi Yueyao was in. 'Even if she is a bit of a weirdo, having one acquaintance is better than knowing no one.'
Since class was about to start, the classroom was already full of students. Xi Yueyao, as brazenly domineering as ever, was sitting in the very center of the front row, munching on snacks.
Feng Hao's arrival didn't attract much attention, but he was quickly spotted by the sharp-eyed Xi Yueyao. "Hey, medicine boy, what are you doing here?"
"Here to attend class, of course," Feng Hao said with a faint smile.
"Nonsense. How come I, the class president, don't know you're in our class?" Xi Yueyao said haughtily, her expression stern.
"Well, well, so you're the class president now?" Feng Hao looked at her in surprise. Then again, on second thought, it made sense. With her strength at level thirteen right from the start, it wasn't strange that she'd become the class president.
"Of course! Your class president is just that amazing!" Xi Yueyao said smugly before putting on a stern face again. "Hey, you still haven't answered my question!"
Feng Hao smirked. "I'm this year's auditor. I plan on auditing your esteemed class."
"An auditor?!" Xi Yueyao's eyes went wide as she stared at him in amazement.
The surrounding students had the same reaction. They had already taken notice when Xi Yueyao went to speak to him, but after hearing he was an auditor, their faces immediately filled with contempt. They began to whisper and clamor amongst themselves:
"Are you kidding me? An auditor thinks he's worthy of being in Class One?"
"I heard auditors are just rich country bumpkins who pay to get a fancy title from the academy. They're not real Mages at all."
"Obviously. Auditors don't even have official student records. How could they be considered Mages?"
"Our Class One is the strongest honors class this year! How can we associate with trash like this?!"
"Kid, if you know what's good for you, get out now! Otherwise, don't blame us for what happens next!"
"Yeah, get out of Class One!"
...
Faced with the crowd's hostility, Feng Hao's expression instantly darkened. Fortunately, Xi Yueyao had a bit of a loyal streak. Seeing everyone targeting Feng Hao, she immediately roared, "Quiet down for your class president!"
As it turned out, the girl did have some authority. The surroundings fell silent at once.
"So what if he's an auditor? I, your class president, hereby declare that from this day forward, he is the auditor for Class One. Anyone who doesn't like it can challenge me to a one-on-one fight."
Xi Yueyao waved her hand, then pulled Feng Hao toward the front row under the furious but silent gazes of the crowd. "Medicine boy, from now on, you stick with me. No one will dare to mess with you."
"Thank you, Class President," Feng Hao grinned. 'Having an acquaintance really is convenient.'
"By the way, I still don't know your name."
"Feng Hao."
Xi Yueyao nodded thoughtfully, then revealed two small canine teeth in a smile. "Alright then. From today on, you're my personal Alchemist."
"..." Feng Hao was speechless. No wonder the girl had been so kind; so she'd been scheming for this all along.
"Hmph, silence means you agree!" Xi Yueyao gave Feng Hao no chance to refuse. She strode back to her own seat, then glared at the little fatty in the seat next to hers. "What are you looking at? Scram! This is Feng Hao's seat from now on."
"On what grounds?" the little fatty asked, unwilling to yield.
"On the grounds that I'm the class president," Xi Yueyao said, putting on a high-and-mighty air.
The little fatty gave a bitter smile and began to gather his things resentfully, preparing to leave.
"Hold it. Leave the snacks!"
"On what grounds?" the little fatty asked, looking at her in anguish.
"Hmph, on the grounds that I'm the class president!"
"..." The little fatty was rendered speechless. He reluctantly left his snacks behind and, wiping away tears, walked to a seat in the back.
Feng Hao watched from the side, dumbfounded. He didn't feel any sympathy for the little fatty, though. When the crowd had been shouting earlier, his voice had been the loudest of all.
P.S. There will be another chapter tonight. Also, please consider leaving a recommendation and adding this book to your library! It's still just a seedling and desperately needs your support to grow :)