Chapter 294 - 266: Enrollment
In the office of Dean Fei of the Cultivation College, Li Qian looked around curiously and found it was a little different from what he had imagined.
"Feel a little different from what you expected?" Dean Fei chuckled, bringing up the topic himself.
Li Qian went along with it. "It is a bit different, yes."
The office was large but messy, clearly divided into left and right halves.
The left side was the office area and was slightly cleaner. The right side looked like a laboratory, with a dazzling, chaotic array of equipment, instruments, test tubes, and books.
Dean Fei gave a wry smile. "It can’t be helped. I have too much official business to deal with on a daily basis and can’t spare the time for research, so this is the only way I can arrange things."
Hearing this, Li Qian was a little surprised. "You still conduct research!"
As soon as the words were out, he realized they sounded a bit off and quickly backpedaled. "I didn’t mean to imply you wouldn’t do research, just that I thought you might not have the time for it."
"Haha..." Dean Fei laughed heartily. "Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind. In reality, most people in my position probably wouldn’t be doing any specific research work."
"It’s not that they wouldn’t want to, but that they simply don’t have the time. However, the Cultivation College is different from the others. If you don’t understand research or have hands-on experience, even the administrative side of things can run into problems."
Li Qian understood the implication and nodded in agreement with Dean Fei.
Besides, his impression of the dean was quite good. He wasn’t one of those high-and-mighty "managers," but a very pragmatic person.
"What are you researching these days?" Li Qian asked curiously after another glance around the room.
"I’m researching a type of potion. If developed successfully, it can promote beneficial mutations in the Dark Night Dog."
Dean Fei explained, "My space here is limited, and my research time is fragmented, so I can’t take on any large-scale projects. I can only tinker with these smaller ones."
"Research is research, regardless of its scale; there’s no hierarchy of importance," Li Qian said.
Of course, these were just empty pleasantries.
Li Qian knew it, and Dean Fei knew it even better.
How could research not have a hierarchy? The impact of its results and the amount of funding invested are all part of the assessment.
These were just unwritten rules, of course, and couldn’t be discussed openly.
They were both intelligent people who knew which topics to discuss and which to avoid, so they decisively dropped the subject and changed topics.
And so, they chatted and laughed. The scene was less like a new student with a college dean and more like two friends from different generations.
Of course, calling them friends from different generations might not be quite right. After all, Dean Fei only looked old; he wasn’t actually that advanced in years and could be considered in the prime of his life.
Dean Fei also gained something from his conversation with Li Qian. It wasn’t like his talks with other students, where he did all the talking while the students couldn’t contribute due to the gap in their knowledge.
This alone was enough to prove that Li Qian possessed true ability and knowledge, and wasn’t just relying on a stroke of luck.
After they had chatted for about half an hour, a university staff member arrived—likely Dean Fei’s assistant or a teacher from the logistics department.
According to his report, Li Qian’s enrollment procedures were complete, and even his room and board had been arranged.
Li Qian was still a little surprised to hear the report.
’How much time has passed? All the procedures are already done. This efficiency is astonishing.’
"Well, Dean Fei, I’ll be heading over now." With a quick farewell, Li Qian followed the young logistics teacher out of the Cultivation College’s administrative building.
A campus of over ten thousand mu was no small place. Getting around entirely on two feet would be quite tiring.
So, as soon as they left the administrative building, the logistics teacher, Teacher Jin, led Li Qian to a small shuttle bus that looked something like a tourist vehicle.
The shuttle moved along with a soft BEEP BEEP, its speed neither fast nor slow—perfect for a bit of sightseeing around the university.
"Our Shazhou Beast Taming University, just the main campus alone, covers an area of thirteen thousand two hundred mu and has eight colleges..." Teacher Jin, much like Yi Hongling before him, began to speak at length with pride.
Li Qian listened casually. He paid closer attention when something interesting came up, but if not, the words just went in one ear and out the other.
Still, he could tell from the words of Teacher Jin, Yi Hongling, and the others that the academic culture at Shazhou Beast Taming University must be excellent.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t all wear such proud and confident expressions.
The electric shuttle drove on at a steady pace. After ten-odd minutes, a lakeside dormitory building came into view.
The dormitory wasn’t tall, only five stories high. With its white walls and black-gray roof tiles, it looked exceptionally elegant set against the green trees and emerald water.
Li Qian liked the dormitory building from the very first glance.
"This is my dormitory?" Li Qian asked, his eyes fixed on the building. As he spoke, he scanned the surroundings. There weren’t many buildings like this—only five of them, built encircling the lake.
Teacher Jin looked at the dormitory as well, a flash of envy in his eyes. "That’s right, Student Li Qian. From now on, this is where you’ll be living."
"This is a dormitory building Shazhou Beast Taming University specially prepared for exceptional talents and select outstanding faculty and staff. Every unit inside is a standard one-bedroom, one-living-room apartment, fully equipped with furniture and appliances," Teacher Jin explained.
Li Qian nodded in satisfaction.
As a specially recruited talent, such treatment from Shazhou Beast Taming University was actually within his expectations.
"Thank you for your trouble, Teacher Jin." Li Qian smiled and followed Teacher Jin’s lead into the nearest dormitory building.
"Xianya Garden, Building Three."
Li Qian glanced at the building number on the plaque and entered without hesitation.
Inside Building Three, they took an elevator, and soon Teacher Jin led Li Qian to the door of his apartment.
"Try it." Teacher Jin pointed to an LCD screen on the apartment door, guiding him.
Li Qian walked over without hesitation.
The screen scanned his face and then, with a BEEP, the door unlocked.
Li Qian understood immediately. ’They must have registered my facial profile when I was completing the enrollment procedures.’
’They’re really efficient.’
He pushed open the door and looked inside. The apartment wasn’t huge—a single bedroom and a living room totaling around forty square meters. However, since it didn’t need a kitchen area, it felt quite open and spacious, not at all cramped.
"What do you think?" Teacher Jin asked, also taking in the apartment’s interior.
Li Qian smiled and answered honestly, "It’s very nice. Thank you for all your trouble, Teacher Jin."
’Regardless of whether Dean Fei arranged this personally, or if Teacher Jin put in any real effort, it doesn’t matter. Flattery costs nothing.’ Li Qian was never stingy with a few kind words.