Ninth In the World

Panda Novel

Even if no one had warned him, Di Jiu would not have provoked the students of the Institute of Martial Arts to cause trouble. The only reason he was there was to join those students and train on the Fairy Planet.

Height-wise, the building that housed the Fairy Planet’s Institute of Martial Arts was far shorter than the Earth Union Headquarters. In terms of floor space, the institute undoubtedly occupied the largest space on the Fairy Square.

The two guards standing at the entrance of the institute had a hint of blood qi. Di Jiu knew instantly that the two men must have killed monsters on the Fairy Planet.

“Big brothers, this is a handwritten letter from Ai Di recommending that Di Jiu joins the elite class,” Di Jiu’s companion told the two guards respectfully. He did not wait for them to speak. Instead, he took the initiative to hand a pistol-shaped letter to the taller guard.

This kind of recommendation was evidently very common at the Institute of Martial Arts. The guard accepted the letter after taking a quick glance at it. Then, he nodded at Di Jiu and told the person who accompanied him, “You can go back. He can enter and register alone.”

When Di Jiu’s companion left, a slightly taller guard handed Di Jiu the letter. “You can proceed and register by yourself. Mr. Ai Di said that you may choose to attend any elite class that you want. After you’ve joined a class, your tutor will help you register. The elite class is at the far left of the college. You will see it as soon as you get there.”

“Thank you.” Di Jiu accepted the letter and thanked the guard. As he was about to go, he suddenly remembered something. “I have a question I would like to ask. Which class is going to the Fairy Planet?”

Di Jiu’s companion had explained that there were eight elite classes at the Fairy Planet’s Institute of Martial Arts and only 30 people in each class. Each test trial would consist of two different classes.

“The classes tested previously were Elite Classes No. 3 and No. 4. The next classes will be Elite Classes No. 5 and No. 6. They should be tested in three days.” The tall guard, who did not think that this was a secret, disclosed the information to Di Jiu.

After thanking him again, Di Jiu entered the Institute of Martial Arts.

Inside the institute one could see students full of endurance and strength. Di Jiu only had to take a quick look to know that these students were several times stronger than the students of the Swallow Capital University’s Institute of Martial Arts. It seemed like they were indeed the most elite martial arts students in the world, which was why they had been allowed to continue their studies on the Fairy Planet.

Di Jiu saw a row of red houses on the far left. The walls on the outside had obvious signs that ranged from Elite No. 1 to Elite No. 8.

The Elite No. 5 class was listening to a very young female teacher, who was explaining the issues they should take note of during the test trial on the Fairy Planet.

“What’s the matter?” Upon seeing Di Jiu, who was standing at the door, the female teacher, who had been in the midst of her explanation, turned her head. Her eyes landed on Di Jiu with a hint of inquiry.

Di Jiu noticed that the teacher was young and very beautiful. Her eyebrows were as slender as willows, and her eyes were bright. Her hair had been cut short, most likely so she could cultivate martial arts. If her fair hands had not been holding onto a long sword, it would have been hard to believe that she was teaching an elite class at the Institute of Martial Arts.

Di Jiu walked in and handed over Ai Di’s letter. “I’m supposed to report to you.”

The teacher looked him up and down and then glanced at the big bag he was carrying and the kitchen knife Di Jiu had on his waist. Then, she took the letter from him.

Di Jiu noticed that the pistol-shaped letter had Ai Di’s signature on it. When the teacher’s gaze fell on the name, she frowned. Di Jiu secretly wondered if Ai Di would actually dare lie to him. Was this not his letter?

After half a minute, the teacher took the letter and looked at Di Jiu coldly. “You should find a place to sit down. When the class is over, I will help you register.”

Di Jiu could feel that she was not in a good mood, so he did not say anything else. As he walked to an empty seat in the classroom, he heard the teacher say with extreme dissatisfaction, “The reputation of the institute has been ruined by self-righteous people in power who have easily allowed useless fellows to join elite classes.”

Di Jiu touched his nose. It seemed like he was not the first guy to enter such a class based on relations and networking. The seats in the front row were filled, so he had to sit in the back row.

“Show some personality, Brother.” When he saw that Di Jiu was carrying a big bag and a long rusted kitchen knife by his waist, a student sitting in front of Di Jiu deliberately turned back and gave him a thumbs-up.

Although it was normal to bring a weapon to the Institute of Martial Arts, most people brought long swords, sabers or other weapons, so Di Jiu’s kitchen knife was too conspicuous.

“Quiet!” The woman on the podium knocked on the blackboard with the long sword in her hand, obviously dissatisfied with the student trying to interact with Di Jiu.

When the classroom quietened down, the teacher explained, “The test trials of classes No. 5 and No. 6 will take place in three days, on September 21st. The temperature here is still similar to the temperature on Earth, so we don’t need to bring a lot of clothes. I have already drawn the route on the blackboard. Do take note so that you won’t get lost. If you get lost and end up alone on the Fairy Planet, you will inevitably die…”

“Ms. Yu, I heard that people have died and gone missing during every trial. Last year, Senior Fan Yu from Elite Class No. 2, who was about to enter the Earth Tier Level, also went missing. Did all those people go missing because they got separated from the rest of the class?” a girl asked as she stood up. Di Jiu could sense the fear in her heart through her tone.

The eyes of the teacher, whose surname was Yu, became gloomy. She nodded and said in a low voice, “Yes, I was there. Tutor Tang led the team at the time. We were sleeping at the foot of a mountain, so Fan Yu was not separated from the class. We actually came across an illusion array. There were 12 people, Fan Yu not included, who disappeared during that incident.”

The atmosphere in the classroom became a lot heavier. The teacher suddenly did not seem to want to keep talking about this, so she simply said, “Today’s test trial preparation lesson will end now. If there are any questions or things you don’t understand, you may approach me. Where’s the new student? What is your name?”

Di Jiu stood up and said, “My name is Di Jiu.”

It was unclear whether this was because of last year’s incident, which had led to the disappearance of genius student Fan Yu, but the teacher’s attitude had improved a lot. “Pang Fan, you will take Di Jiu to the dormitory and clarify anything he is unsure of. Class dismissed.”

When she was finished, she inserted the sword into her scabbard, turned around and walked out of the classroom.

“I am Pang Fan, Brother. Let’s go! I will take you to the dormitory,” the student who had turned around earlier said while patting Di Jiu on the shoulder.

Pang Fan looked kind of chubby. After he took a few steps closer, Di Jiu could sense that this guy was at least a mid-stage Yellow-Grade Warrior.

“My name is Di Jiu. Thank you. You look like a friend of mine,” Di Jiu said with a smile. He was suddenly reminded of Qu Xiaoshu.

Qu Xiaoshu was as chubby as Pang Fan, but way shorter than him.

“What is your realm?” Pang Fan tapped lightly on the kitchen knife by Di Jiu’s waist. “Ha ha! You look a little like a chef.”

“I have not cultivated martial arts before, but I do know a few tricks. I could not find a better weapon for the time being. This knife is actually pretty handy.” Di Jiu was very satisfied with his knife. When he was alone, the first thing he would do was refine it and find out if it could fly.

“You haven’t cultivated martial arts before, yet you will be coming to the test trial with us three days from now?” Pang Fan looked at Di Jiu in surprise. He did not wait for Di Jiu to answer his question before he added, “No one will protect you during the test trial, Di Jiu. You will have to depend on yourself.”

“I know. You don’t have to worry about me. My knife skills are not that bad.” As Di Jiu answered, he finally realized how cold the members of the elite class were.

Except for Pang Fan, who had been enthusiastic about meeting him, every other student had only paid attention to the kitchen knife by his waist. Then, as soon as the class had been dismissed, everyone had left. Not a single person had approached him.

“Follow me then. As long as you know that I am the weakest student of Elite Class No. 5,” Pang Fan said, looking a little embarrassed.

Di Jiu smiled. “I saw several people who appeared to be very strong. You can stick by them during the trial.”

Pang Fan stroked his hair with a sigh. “Those people are immensely arrogant. I’m just a little fatter and more talkative than they are. What’s so great about me?”

Although Pang Fan had muttered the last two sentences, Di Jiu had still heard them clearly. It seemed like Pang Fan had no friends in Elite Class No. 5. Everyone seemed to look down on him, which was why he would only sit in the back row.

“You could follow the tutor so you won’t be in a lot of danger.” Di Jiu was telling the truth. As soon as he arrived on the Fairy Planet, he would look for a chance to leave the rest of the team. If Pang Fan had no friends, then it would be a lot safer for him to remain close to the teacher.

In Di Jiu’s opinion, the teacher had to be at least at a mid-stage Earth Tier Level.

Pang Fan shook his head. “Ms. Yu will not be able to take care of me. She will only think of me if something happens to her class.”

Di Jiu frowned. He hated people who used others when they needed help and discarded them when they were no longer of any use to them.

When Pang Fan saw the disdain on Di Jiu’s face, he quickly explained, “This has nothing to do with Ms. Yu. She is a good person, but the students are supposed to team up during the trial, not the tutors. Every student’s time in this class is precious, so they are generally reluctant to do things that are not related to their cultivation.”

Pang Fan was implying that Yu Jie would assign him miscellaneous tasks that the other students would not do.

Di Jiu messed up Pang Fan’s hair, patted the kitchen knife by his waist, and said, “Come with me. I’ll take care of you.”

“Ha ha! I think I’ll be taking care of you. When we leave the Fairy Square, you will see how ferocious those beasts are,” Pang Fan said with a laugh. He had not taken Di Jiu’s words seriously.