“The Soans are ticking time bombs for this continent!”

“That’s right! They should never have existed!”

“To keep things in order, I think we should banish, lock up, or kill the Soans!”

“The Soans can’t exist!”

Several people offered similar opinions. The majority in the room agreed. Only a few people seemed hesitant.

Principal Eman Sket frowned. “I’m only asking you to take a vote. If you have anything to say, just say it. If you don’t, I’ll take it as your acquiescence.”

Those hesitating few looked at one another and didn’t say anything in the end.

Most people in Stelladom Academy agreed to eradicate the Soans. If they expressed different opinions, they would be going against the general trend.

The relationships in Stelladom Academy were already complicated. If they expressed their true opinion, they would have a hard time afterward.

Eman Sket sighed and seemed disappointed.

“Mr. Sket, what do you think?” one of the elderly teachers asked.

They could express their opinions, but in the end, Eman was the one who made the call. The principal had veto power over all decisions.

“What do I think?” Eman smiled. No one could tell what he thought.

“We can let the Soans either live or die.”

He left after that. The crowd was dumbfounded. They had no idea what Eman meant. That was a useless opinion.

Either let live or die?

Which was it?

No one could figure it out.

Starwan Tower.

Emperor Shwa had already arrived. He wanted to send someone at first, but that wouldn’t feel sincere enough. For an important matter like this, he felt he should come in person.

“Chief Nim, is Starwan Tower still going to remain neutral?” Emperor Shwa asked.

“Are you not? That’s not very like you.” A voice came from behind a curtain.

They spoke to each other through that curtain, and neither could see the other person’s face.

Ley Nim, the chief of Starwan Tower, had never been seen in public because he dealt with external affairs in person. Even if Emperor Shwa was here, Ley still remained behind the curtain.

“Chief Nim, do you think that’s a wise decision? I think you already know many secrets of Stelladom. Don’t you want to break some rules?

“Are you sure you want to hide here forever?”

Emperor Shwa became excited and pointed at Ley.

Although they couldn’t see each other’s faces through the curtain, they could still see movements. Naturally, Ley saw what Emperor Shwa did.

Emperor Shwa’s words meant more than one thing. For one, he was referring to the fact that Ley had been staying behind the curtain all the time. For another, he meant everybody was hiding in Stelladom.

“What’s wrong with that? If we want to hide out here, why should we go out?

“Yes, there’s a big world outside, but we can pretend there’s nothing there. Isn’t that nice?

“The barrier has been there since I was born. Do you ever wonder why it’s like that? Don’t you ever speculate why the barrier exists? You don’t know what we have to face if we break the barrier. In that case, why should we do it?”

Those words felt like punches on Emperor Shwa’s face. He didn’t know the answer to those questions. No one in Stelladom did.

That was why Emperor Shwa wanted to break some rules to see the world outside. The barrier felt like a prison!

“Chief Nim, it sounds like you’re no longer neutral. You’d rather defend the rules, don’t you? I guess I shouldn’t have come here!” Emperor Shwa sighed.

He knew which side Ley was on. The chief didn’t want to break the rules. Those questions had successfully stopped him from making further requests.

In that case, he had no choice but to leave.

Emperor Shwa heard a voice from behind him when he was almost out of the door.

“Adhering to old habits is a good thing, but breaking the rules isn’t a bad thing either. The timing is wrong. Stelladom isn’t strong enough, so we shouldn’t touch the barrier.”

That was obviously Ley’s voice. The chief fell silent after that. Emperor Shwa paused for a brief moment before leaving the room.

…

The following day in Elixir School, the actual combat was about to start. Unlike the alchemy competition, the contestants were no longer competing together. They were separated into different groups.

Virtualization cultivators were divided into 16 ten-member teams. Each team was led by an examiner.

The examiners’ task was to select three capable members from their respective teams, who would then compete with contestants from other teams.

This selection would continue until there were only three contestants left. The finalists would compete against the guest contestants.

That was the process of the annual competition.

“Alright. The ten of you can follow me now!” Firey smiled.

She was in a great mood today because she was an examiner!

However, no one followed her. Instead, they all stood there, looking dazed.

“Kid, are you our examiner? Are you sure you’re up for it?” one of the ten contestants asked.

“Sister Cien has given me this token. If I’m not up for it, are you?” Firey was displeased.

She had the token, but these people were questioning her. Damn them!

“Sister Cien?” That person was confused.

“Who’s that?” The others didn’t recognize the name either.