High School of Demon Hunting

Zheng Qing had plenty of helpers.

Back in freshman year, as soon as he entered school he set up his own Knight Group and his own Hunting team. Among the rescued Sprites three Great Elves were born, and the shadow Su Shijun had cut off also broke out of the Two-dimensional World and became a Shadow Cat. On top of that there was the Yellow Flowered Cat his teacher had left him, the Obsession Little Green Snake that R’lyeh had entrusted him to erase, Giant God Soldier Taiyi and Primordial, as well as the relatively delicate-status Greenhill Mansion, and so on—one could say that filling all the departments of a newly established institution would not be much of a problem.

The problem was that this newly established institution was called the "Relevant Department."

The most secret institution within the Alliance.

Once you entered this institution, there was a high probability you would bid farewell completely to the life of an ordinary Wizard. And many of Zheng Qing’s helpers, including the Yuzui Knights, came from noble family lineages in the wizard world and were not suited to enter this kind of institution.

So when he said he was short-handed, it was not modesty.

Master Bao Yangzi seemed to have been prepared for the young dean’s dilemma for a long time.

"—Even if you had enough people, we wouldn’t necessarily be able to accept them into the Relevant Department."

The Elder Wizard gave a very slight shake of his head, but at the same time also offered a solution: "As I just mentioned, the Relevant Department is a behemoth. Besides your four branches, the Relevant Department also has a general Supervisory Department, Secretariat, Office, Archives Room and other related divisions. The people you need, you can file an application with the Office—meaning my side—and then the General Affairs Office will allocate them at its discretion."

Those few words "allocate at its discretion" were very subtle.

They meant that the personnel Zheng Qing requested would not necessarily be assigned to him as needed.

"—Moreover, besides headquarters, ’Buzhou’, ’Eden’, and ’Babel’ will each provide you with corresponding support."

Master Bao Yangzi turned his gaze to the other three Wizards beside him. His expression was solemn, but his words were meant for Zheng Qing: "This represents the school’s earnest expectations for the new Order... and also represents the Relevant Department’s support for you."

Zheng Qing quietly let out a bitter smile in his heart.

He finally understood where the faint sense of dissatisfaction permeating the atmosphere at today’s meeting came from. A newly founded institution, which had yet to make any contribution, was already waving its dinner knife around and cutting piece after piece of delicious cake off everyone else’s plates.

Was this simply a redistribution of resources,

or was the school—or perhaps his teacher—taking the opportunity to "reform" a Relevant Department whose structure had become somewhat rigid?

Zheng Qing had no way of knowing.

But he did know that all he could do was accept this "generosity."

"I’m deeply grateful for the school and the Relevant Department’s support for my work." The young Dean of the Peripheral College showed not a trace of fear, a proper smile appearing on his face as he inclined his head slightly to the other three Elder Wizards: "—I believe that with your help, the newborn ’Order’ will certainly be able to make greater contributions to the school."

No smiles.

And no applause.

The atmosphere sat in awkward silence for a while.

Just as Zheng Qing hesitated over whether he should say something more, the Vice Mountain Master of Buzhou stepped forward.

"One third of the researchers and data of the Giant God Soldier Project Team were provided by the school, and Buzhou provided the remaining two thirds."

He glanced at the two rings on the boy’s hand and stated succinctly: "—Now that you command two Legendary Giant God Soldiers, we’ve decided to hand Buzhou’s ’Giant God Soldier Laboratory’ over to you... so you can fully unleash the Giant God Soldiers’ power."

After speaking, he nodded to Master Bao Yangzi, spread his robe sleeve, and his figure silently vanished into the shadow of the locust tree.

Right after him came the female Vice Garden Director from Eden.

"There are three Spirit Roots in The Garden of Eden: golden apples, flat peaches, and Xuanhuang Wood."

She lowered her eyelids and drew a soft breath: "The first two uphold Eden’s foundations; only the third, the Xuanhuang Wood, was cut from a branch of the ancestral tree in the Black Prison... The school has tried cultivating it in many Worlds, but in the end only this one survived. In other words, this is one of only two Xuanhuang Woods still alive in the World. Now, we’re handing it over to you."

She took out an Emerald ring and passed it to Bao Yangzi, then gave it one last lingering look before turning into scattered white light and disappearing from everyone’s sight.

After a brief inspection, Master Bao Yangzi nodded slightly and stuffed the ring into Zheng Qing’s hand: "—This Xuanhuang Wood from Eden is also several hundred years old. Though it cannot compare to the one in the Black Prison, it’s still extremely precious... Babel?"

The youthful-looking Vice Tower Master of Babel gave a snort: "We don’t have the wealth of Buzhou or Eden. What Babel has in greatest supply is knowledge. So we’ll replicate our Library and hand it over to the Order."

With that, he pulled his hood back up, turned into a wisp of blue smoke, and left this desolate garden.

"—Don’t think Babel’s gift is light. In my view, what Babel is giving you is the richest offering among the three institutions."

Master Bao Yangzi noticed the odd look on the boy’s face and, seemingly worried that the young dean might take offense, explained: "Materials and books related to Forbidden Curses are very hard to collect, and very rare. The current Babel Tower Master has a bit of a collecting obsession, so the data in His Tower is the most extensive in the entire Relevant Department... laboratories get shut down, spirit trees wither away, only the Aura of knowledge is eternal and undying."

Zheng Qing tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The truth was, compared to a Library bursting with books, he would much rather Babel give him a Hundred Herb Gardens full of spirit medicines, or a Giant army; failing that, a few adult Flood Dragons, or warehouses piled high with jade coins—he wouldn’t complain about any of those.

The Library, on the other hand, was what he really didn’t need.

With the "San You Bookstore" his teacher had left him, he didn’t think there was anywhere in this World with a collection richer than the bookstore’s. But given how things now stood, sending someone’s gift back and haggling for something else would be an even worse offense.

At least if he didn’t want to make their already somewhat strained relationship even more awkward.

Thinking of this, the young dean let out a long sigh.

"Thank you all for your generosity and forbearance."

He muttered toward the empty space beside him, then slipped the Emerald ring onto his finger—he now wore three rings on his hand. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he ended up like Andrew Taylor, whom he used to mock, with rings on all ten fingers.

"Now, there’s only one last matter."

Master Bao Yangzi seemed to have set down a heavy burden; his tone grew much lighter as he turned to look toward the entrance of this desolate garden: "—I need you to confirm the name of the Order, so the Office can register it properly."

"The name?" Zheng Qing’s voice held a trace of puzzlement.

Wasn’t "Order" itself the name of the new institution?

The old man had already guessed his confusion: "Order can only count as half a name for this new institution. Just like Mount Buzhou, The Garden of Eden, Babel Tower... we need to confirm what your understanding of Order is."