Star Hunter.

Chapter 228 Royal Academy of Sciences of Lanza

"Holy crap, that brat actually disassembled that KJ-35 multi-functional composite gun!" Peter watched with great interest, occasionally offering his comments.

Xilin didn't speak, but besides paying attention to the battle between the two sides, he also listened to the discussions of the people around him. Often, the information provided by onlookers far surpasses that of the main characters.

Before long, Xilin understood the reason for the two sides' renewed conflict; it was indeed about the great noble family, Firehawk. After Firehawk's people arrived on the planet, they were informed of the matter through Da's communication network.

People from all sides on the planet have begun to take action. Whether it's minor nobles hoping to curry favor with the Firehawk royal family or those yearning for recognition, they are all starting to prepare.

The Valenbato School was naturally very interested in this news, so the students had already started exchanging information and trying to find out more.

The arrival of the Fiery Eagle intensified the competition between the two sides. The nobles accused the commoners of wishful thinking, while the commoners quickly retaliated. In the previous semester's overall rankings, over 60% of the top 100 students were commoners, a source of shame for the noble students. Eventually, the two sides started arguing and then came to blows. However, a closer look revealed that both sides were holding back, which is why the school security guards were able to watch the spectacle with peace of mind.

As long as no major incident occurs, the school will turn a blind eye to the infighting between the two sides, euphemistically calling it "stimulating competition."

However, what Xilin is wondering now is why commoners here dare to fight with nobles? Aren't they afraid of retaliation from the nobles?

It wasn't that Xilin thought the nobles were so bad. After all, people like Peter were too few. The few minor nobles he had seen on Old Man Chang's planet all looked down on people, with an attitude of "Don't mess with me or I'll kill you." It was hard to compare with the current situation.

Because he didn't know, Xilin directly asked Peter, after all, Peter was a truly wealthy man.

"Belle, is the difference between commoners and nobles minimal at school?"

Peter stroked his chin. "That depends on the school. The better the school, the smaller the difference in treatment between commoners and nobles. As for Valenbato, although I haven't heard of it before, judging from the information, since it ranks among the top ten in this star system, it must have the ability to reduce the difference in treatment between commoners and nobles. After all, Valenbato has produced an honorary scholar of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Perhaps that honorary scholar will be promoted to a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences soon."

Peter smacked his lips, tossed the empty bottle into the trash can, and continued, "That honorary scholar is from the 23rd Star Region of the Empire. He received his secondary education in Barumbato when he was young, but later, because he was too outstanding, he was directly recruited by a school in the star region where the Imperial Capital is located. After completing his higher education, he directly entered the Royal Academy of Sciences and became an honorary scholar. There's a lot of information about him returning to his alma mater to give a lecture in the school's introduction, isn't there?"

Sirin knew that Valenbato had produced an honorary scholar of the Royal Academy, but he hadn't expected that an honorary scholar could force Valenbato to compromise to this extent. Having witnessed the differences between nobles and commoners, Sirin was astonished that commoner students could fight with noble students in Valenbato's schools, and the school seemed to take it all in stride and ignore it?!

Seeing Xilin's surprise, Peter chuckled, "That's the Royal Academy of Sciences, not some small institution."

The Royal Academy of Sciences! My father once wanted to push me to go there, but I was a disappointment; I simply didn't have the talent for it.

Peter pointed to his head as he spoke, but there was no hint of frustration in his voice; it was as if he were stating something ordinary.

Peller told Sirin about the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lansa. Only now did Sirin truly realize that in the Lansa Empire, it wasn't just the nobles who stood at the top.

The Royal Academy of Sciences of Lansa is the highest academic institution and research center of the Lansa Empire, and the highest hall of honor for academic researchers. It is an independent institution, not directly controlled by the Lansa Royal Family.

Interestingly, 70% of the members of the Royal Academy of Lanza are of commoner origin, not nobles. Even more noteworthy is that the current president of the Royal Academy of Lanza is of commoner birth. This alone is enough to make some nobles carefully consider certain issues.

Anyone who can enter the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lansa is already of a status no less than some mid-level nobles, especially the senior researchers. Even members of the royal family have to show them respect, given their significant influence on the development of the Lansa Empire. The Royal Academy of Sciences is an academic authority, much like the Star Alliance Research Institute of the Star Alliance.

The Royal Academy of Sciences also has members, which is a purely honorary title, a recognition of their academic achievements. Although it is not divided into several ranks like the Covenant, the Royal Academy of Sciences is still divided into two major categories: Honorary Scholars and Members.

In the Lansa Empire, the members of the Royal Academy of Sciences have many responsibilities. In addition to their own research projects, they regularly attend meetings held by various departments within the Royal Academy of Sciences to discuss recent scientific progress and report on the latest scientific developments. They also participate in various academic seminars organized by the interdisciplinary committees under the Academy of Sciences. Sometimes they accept appointments from noble enterprises to do some research and guidance work. They accept invitations from well-known schools to give lectures and teach. They also participate in the evaluation of various scientific awards and the assessment of the comprehensive strength of intermediate and advanced schools.

The Lansa Empire is an empire that reveres science and knowledge. As a result, the academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences are highly respected and enjoy a very high social status. They have transcended their original background as commoners or nobles and become a unique individual, which allows them to enjoy privileges in some areas, even those superior to those of certain nobles.

  

Often, a noble family business needs to hire experts from the Royal Academy of Sciences to guide it in order to expand its operations and avoid making mistakes. Imagine the consequences if a noble offends the people of the Royal Academy of Sciences. The emperor and the three kings generally treat the people of the Royal Academy of Sciences with respect. Does your family have more influence than the emperor and the three kings?

Regardless of the social system, those who value scholarship and dedicate themselves to academic research are essentially the same: they have their own worldview and, no matter who they are dealing with, they have their own principles.

The main reason why Barumbato is ranked among the top ten schools in this star system is because it produces honorary scholars of the Royal Academy of Sciences, giving them something to boast about. Therefore, the Barumbato administration has been looking forward to the emergence of the next honorary scholar, and every year a few people are given priority admission to several well-known higher education institutions in the Empire, but in the end, no one has been seen to enter the Royal Academy of Sciences.

In fact, every year the University of Valenbaum invests more effort in its students from the general population than in its aristocracy. After all, in academic competition, the aristocracy is always at a disadvantage. Do you really expect those aristocratic students who look down on others and only know how to dress up, chase girls, and live a life of extravagance to actually do research for you? It's practically impossible.

Of course, we can't condemn an ​​entire group of people indiscriminately. There are many capable individuals among the nobility, and there are also some people of noble birth in the Royal Academy. You should know that the Royal Academy of Sciences is not a place you can get into just by using connections.

Intelligence is not absolutely related to character, nor is it absolutely related to one's background.

The better the school, the more peacefully it treats ordinary people. As long as you have the ability, you can enjoy the same treatment as nobles, or even better, as long as you are in the school.

"Hey, the battle's almost over!" Peter said.

Xilin looked over and saw that the school security guards had already gone up to break up the fight. Although both sides were bruised and swollen, their injuries were not serious and at least not life-threatening.

After both sides dispersed, most of the people who had been watching the lottery also left.

"Let's go find the mistresses." Xilin stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, and said.

Peter placed his palm across his forehead and looked around at the school buildings. "Where to look? Dormitories? It seems like they're about to have class."

"Xilin, the electronic bulletin board over there shows the students' overall academic rankings!" Gray Cat pointed in a direction with its paw and said.

Not far away stands a large bulletin board, which the school uses to announce the results of each comprehensive test.

"Let's go look for the names of mistresses first."

Xilin and Peter walked towards the bulletin board, because the overall rankings displayed on the bulletin board had been up for a while, and there weren't many people gathered around looking at it.

Peter looked through the list of the top 100 first-year students from top to bottom and said regretfully, "I don't see any third or fourth graders."

"Yes, the thirty-first and thirty-seventh are them." Xilin pointed to the names and told Peter.

"Thirty-one is Chang Xiao, thirty-seven is Chang Fu? Not mistresses or concubines?"

"Mistresses are just their nicknames; their real names are Changxiao and Changfu," Xilin explained.

"I see."

Xilin moved his finger on the control panel below the bulletin board and tapped the names of Xiao San Changxiao and Xiao Si Changfu. Their classes were displayed, along with what classes they were currently taking and where their classes were held.

In the campus monitoring room, someone said, "Huh, two people actually checked Chang Xiao and Chang Fu's information today. By the way, aren't Chang Xiao and Chang Fu ordinary citizens?"

All operation records on the bulletin board will be displayed in the monitoring room.

"They are indeed commoners," another person said. "They were ranked in the eighties during the entrance exam, but now they're in the top fifty. They have good potential, but no one has ever looked at their information before."

After exchanging a few words, the two stopped paying attention, since such things happened too often every day, and they were used to it.

Meanwhile, Bill and Xilin were heading to the classrooms where Chang Xiaosan and Chang Xiaosi had their classes, but since there were still two hours before get out of class ended, Xilin and Bill decided to explore the school first.

The school environment is quite nice, but in some secluded woods, there are many young men and women with budding romantic feelings, mostly children of noble families. Peter even went to eavesdrop with a lewd look on his face, which made Xilin's face twitch.

This is the real prince of the Firehawk royal family! If the people of Lansa knew about this prince's character, I wonder what kind of horrifying reaction they would have.

The gray cat, who had run into the grass to catch insects, jumped back onto Xilin's shoulder. It had just eaten two large butterflies, and there was pollen on its mouth. Licking its paws and wiping its mouth, it patted Xilin and said, "Hurry up and get out of here—it's going to rain soon!"

Xilin looked at the sky and saw that clouds were indeed starting to drift over. But it didn't look like it was going to rain.

Even though it didn't look right, Xilin did as Gray Cat said. He gestured to Biller and ran to the vending machine to buy two umbrellas. He originally wanted to buy four, but the vending machine only had two left.

Even with rapid technological advancements, these primitive tools haven't been phased out, and few changes have been made. Many people prefer to use these tools to wander in natural rain, experiencing the world washed by the rain. Because in many places, people don't see the gentle, natural rain.

Sure enough, five minutes later, the clouds suddenly thickened, and raindrops began to fall softly. Couples on their trysts hurriedly left, some even using their remote-controlled flying cars to pick each other up. Some of the more adventurous children ran hand-in-hand in the rain, laughing heartily.

Peter rushed over, caught the umbrella Xilin threw to him, opened it, and grumbled, "It was sunny just a moment ago and now it's raining? What awful weather, even worse than our Third Affiliated High School."

"Appendix 3?" Xilin asked.

Peter shook the water droplets off his head, tossed his chin up with a smug look, and was about to say something when he glanced around to make sure no one was coming. Then he whispered, "I study at the Third Affiliated Higher Education School of the Royal Academy of Sciences, or 'Affiliated School 3' for short. How about that? Envious?"

Peter had no intention of hiding anything. He knew that Sirin had already guessed his identity, so he was quite frank about it.

Xilin didn't react much. Given Pierre's background, it wasn't surprising that he attended a good school; a school prefixed with "Royal Academy" spoke volumes about its status within Lanza High School. However…

"Why is it Appendix 3? There are Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 before that?"

Peter curled his lip. "There are only three affiliated higher education schools of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Our Third Affiliated School is the most normal. The other two are full of freaks, not human beings."

Seemingly thinking of something terrifying, Peter shuddered, turned to Xilin seriously, and said, "Seriously, those places are full of freaks! If you ever hear of anyone coming from Affiliated First or Second Affiliated High School, be careful, or you'll be in big trouble."

Xilin nodded. "I've got it."

Peter didn't talk much about the First or Second Affiliated ...

As Peter was getting into his story, Sirin asked, "Speaking of which, you should still be receiving higher education, right?"

Peter's words came to an abrupt halt. "Well, you know, you have to adjust your mindset every now and then. You can't just throw yourself into studying all at once. My brain has limited capacity and can't process so many complicated things at once. I need to clear the cache every now and then."

Xilin, that's ridiculous! You actually have a point!

However, Xilin wouldn't comment too much on other people's affairs, as everyone has their own way of thinking.

Peter felt a little awkward talking about this, so to change the subject, he pointed to the gray cat and asked, "What's that cat listening to?"

Xilin looked over and saw that the gray cat wasn't paying any attention to their conversation at all. Instead, it was listening intently to something, its ears perked up. By the frequency of its whiskers twitching, Xilin knew that the cat probably had prey. This guy would twitch its whiskers at a certain frequency whenever it heard the movement of its prey.

Xilin flicked the gray cat's ear. "What did you hear?"

The gray cat's sweet mouth rang out, "A frog's croak!"

"Frogs?!" Peter's eyes lit up. "Back in the third year of high school, Xingming, Ga Nuo, and I caught frogs and roasted them in the dorm. They were really good!"

Under the eager gaze of the human and the cat, Xilin headed towards the place the gray cat had indicated where the frogs were. After all, the younger children still had over an hour before their classes ended. They still had time.

In Valenbato, there is a lotus pond with many frogs. These frogs are different from ordinary frogs; they do not undergo metamorphosis, meaning they do not go through the tadpole stage but directly develop into frogs.

The lotus pond was vast, and the climate in Valenbato was ideal for the growth and reproduction of these frogs. Their calls could be heard for most of the year. However, many nobles disdained catching these slimy creatures, and commoners dared not attempt it. After all, being treated relatively equally within the Valenbato school was already a privilege; they dared not recklessly hunt the lotus pond's frogs. Some who tried to catch frogs were seen by nobles and mocked, and after that, few dared to hunt them anymore.

Perhaps it was because the students of Valenbato didn't bother with these frogs that were so brazenly perched on the lotus leaves that they became bolder, not even moving their legs when they saw Shirin and Peter approaching. They only started croaking quietly when Peter grabbed them with a sly grin, and then fell silent, having been skillfully knocked unconscious by Peter and left to the side.

"One more, keep going, at least enough for one dish!"

Peter was quite adept at catching frogs, holding an umbrella in one hand and reaching for the frogs near the roadside with the other.

The gray cat has already jumped into the pond to play. There are plump fish and silly frogs in the pond, enough to keep it entertained for a while.

Xilin stuffed the frogs that had been stunned by Peter into a bag, pondering what to do next.

While Chang Xiaosan and Chang Xiaosi were listening attentively to the lesson, they would never have imagined that the two people, who were more than ten years older than them and should have been much more mature, were catching frogs in the lotus pond at their school.