The Thirteen Trials of the Deceptive Monk

-Vilsa: Isn't the president coming?

Anonymous: Is she trying to steal the spotlight...?

[Millennium Cave] Home Hero: That's right, just as everyone imagined! The ambitious Vice President is preparing to further win over people's hearts.

[Millennium Cave] Home Hero: This is probably recruitment before the official operation. First, establish the Vice President's glorious image in the minds of the new students and incite the club leaders to cooperate! After gathering enough votes, secure victory in this year's internal vote in one fell swoop!

-Pink Bunny: Well, this is a really idiotic plan with the vice president's style.

-Velsa: Wouldn't it be better to just send magic coins directly?

[Millennium Cave] Home hero:? ?

-Velsa: Use magic coins to exchange for votes; whoever pays the most gets elected. That's the fairest way. That's how we internal election committees all operate.

-Anonymous: Today I'm also bringing you some little-known facts about savages.

-Anonymous: Virsa, please, please start another thread about the clan election. I want to see it.

"Damn it!"

Polly slammed the jade pendant onto her pillow and rolled around angrily: "That newbie... how dare he so blatantly derail my thread... My authority on the forum is being challenged!!"

"What's the point of defending something like that?" the girl by the door said.

"babble--!"

Polly scrambled into the corner of the blankets, the whole process taking only 0.5 seconds, a smooth and seamless motion that even Lu Wenjun had to admire.

The girl who spoke to me peeked out with a grin: "It's me, Polly-chan."

"Mememelt, you've made a copy of my house key again...!"

The uninvited lady, dressed in a sleeveless white blouse and with slightly curly black hair, was none other than Miss Melt, a regular at the tavern. She rubbed her hands together with a sinister smile.

"Polly-chan, I need your help with something small... You must have a lot of dirt on the clubs, right? How about we share it?"

Polly peered out warily: "You? You want dirt on me?"

Melt nodded with a grin.

“Just now, Senior Fang Mo came to ask me for help, and I refused…” Polly muttered. “Oh, I see. Were you bribed? Tell me honestly, how much did he give you!”

“How much he gave me is not important; what matters is how much I can give you.” Melt revealed the jade pendant. “Look closely! This is the dark history of ‘Udumbara Kaguya’s’ debut year—the original manuscript of the Phantom—which has long been deleted!”

Polly leaped up like a hungry tiger: "Mine!"

"No rush, send me the dirt on me first... Hey, don't try to steal it! Don't use your hair! You wretched, physically demanding homebody!"

Below, Fang Mo listened to the commotion upstairs and a sinister smile appeared on his face.

"Heh... those arrogant newbies are doomed this time..."

"Kano, shut up. Don't mimic me."

Kano, standing nearby, tapped his head and winked, "Ugh, Fang Mo-senpai is so petty~"

"That tone is fucking disgusting!" Fang Mo roared.

·

Classes, part-time jobs, dance practice, and studying. Two weeks flew by, and before they knew it, it was the last Friday of the first month of school. On the day of the dance, Lü Wenjun got up an hour early to practice his dance in front of the mirror.

"Are you trying to make a splash tonight and win the hearts of all the girls in the school?" Mingxiao watched with great interest.

"No, I want to shut that idiot up completely so he has no room to criticize me."

Mingxiao covered her mouth and chuckled, "I have a feeling that the little witch is doing the same thing somewhere on campus..."

“Huh? That guy? No way!” Pershka said, adjusting his position slightly. “He’s definitely still in bed, waiting for a chance to make fun of me tonight.”

The beast witches exchanged a silent glance, handed over a comb, a casual dress, and pointed to the clock.

"I know, I won't..."

"...Late!"

Two boys with dark circles under their eyes rushed into the classroom at the last second before the bell rang, their movements as agile as sprinters crossing the finish line. Earl Welton couldn't help but applaud their skill: "Let's begin class now—there's only one empty desk left, so I'm afraid you two will have to sit together in the front row."

The two, who were almost late, glared at each other, and bursts of laughter filled the classroom.

Alchemy class. Druid class. Urban legends class. They hastily jotted down notes, answering questions as they went. Both were somewhat distracted, knowing that after today, they would finally be over this hurdle. After the ball, things would go on as usual; there was no need for further unnecessary interaction with this difficult person.

The last session was on spiritualism, and they sat at a table in the far corner, exchanging details in hushed tones.

"You should have been prepared." "I'm not like you, this absent-minded guy."

"Wipe off your dark circles before you start spouting nonsense, Miss Pershka!" "You're the one who shouldn't fall asleep while dancing!"

"The two of you."

They started bickering as usual, completely forgetting about the blackboard. "My physical abilities are far superior to yours." "Why don't you compete with Mr. Versa?" "Then why don't you compete with Ling Gong in terms of physique?" "Magicians are judged by magical power!"

"You two!" the other person's voice rose.

"What's up!"

Lu Wenjun and Pershka looked up at the same time and found the classroom completely silent. Professor Ji was standing by the table with his textbook in his hand, his face as cold as an ice peak that had never melted in the polar regions.

"Mr. Lü and Miss Pershka, please stay after class."

The two shouted in unison, "Please don't!"

·

“Let me tell you, Ji Chuanjun is really angry this time.” Faris shivered. “She had this expression when she hit us with that Emerald Hyper Beam last time. I felt like I broke my ribs that time.”

Upon hearing this, Vilsa was filled with awe: "You are very brave. I wouldn't dare to mess with her; I feel like I'd die."

"According to Bill, he might really die."

They all straightened their ties and stood tall and proud in the queue to enter the museum.

The Muse Hall is brightly lit at night. This villa-style building features carved glass depicting the figures of goddesses. When the lights are on, their graceful silhouettes are projected into the air, as if goddesses in the sky are dancing with mortals.

The first floor of the Muse Hall houses a ballroom and buffet tables, while the upper floors feature a hollowed-out "回" (return) structure. The alumni who arrived earlier stood behind the glass windows, looking down upon the arrival of yet another cohort of new students.

The freshmen felt the gazes, so they all dressed up to present their best selves. Even Faris and Vilsa, dressed in rented formal attire, looked quite gentlemanly in their smart suits.

"Student registration confirmed, please..." The receptionist's smile froze for a moment, "Please wait a moment."

"What can I do for you?" Faris asked politely.

"We suggest you leave your belongings at our place..."

The receptionist's gaze moved downwards and stopped at the two people's hands.

Two well-mannered gentlemen were carrying large buckets of water in each hand, looking as if they were about to go into a ballroom for a deep bath.

“Oh, these are our cutlery,” Velsa said.

"……Feel sorry?"

Faris smiled broadly: "We're both quite clean, and we like to bring our own utensils when we eat. Don't worry, we won't disturb the dancing; we're just here to eat!"

After saying that, the two hurriedly entered the ballroom while the receptionist was still stunned. With a hunter's instinct, Versa locked onto their target: "The meat and seafood tables are inside. There's lobster!"

Faris exclaimed, "Holy crap, they even have grilled chicken snake tail and foie gras! The student council is really generous. Let's grab them while there aren't many people around!"

Versa was still thinking about the equipment: "Should we fill the barrels first?"

"You've made a strategic mistake. If you pack too much food and leave it out too long, it'll get cold, which is a complete loss. Let's eat it while it's fresh and hot, and we can pack up the rest if we can't finish it!"

"That makes sense, let's eat first!"

The two men charged forward like pigs, rushing to the buffet table and feasting amidst the awe-inspiring gazes of the ladies. Their hearty eating, completely ignoring the stares of others, was enough to make every magician realize the truth of the world: the attention of others is useless; you still have to rely on yourself to eat.

On the second floor, many upperclassmen looked away in disgust. Student council vice president Giltan rubbed his temples and whispered, "Who let these two pigs... these two people in?"

A member of the Demonology Research Club whispered, "Vice President, they are the third and fifth place winners this year..."

Giltan shook his head repeatedly, the bespectacled, refined-looking brown-haired man looking utterly bewildered: "The top five are actually this kind of trash? What about the other three?"

"It's said that Miss Ten'in, who came in fourth, isn't interested in the ball and isn't planning to come," the cadre said awkwardly. "The first and second place winners were reportedly detained for arguing in Professor Ji's class, so they probably won't be able to come..."

Giltan felt utterly disoriented: "What kind of people are in this class?!"

He had originally planned to use the dance as an opportunity to scout out some promising new members for the student council. But the top five were all oddballs; what hope was there for the other freshmen?

The cadre hadn't given up: "The data says their combat performance was excellent; I guess they're the kind of geniuses with unique personalities?"

Faris, on the first floor, had no interest in the senior figures upstairs; he was observing the "souls" floating above their heads.

This is a grayish-brown ghost about the size of a teddy bear. Its round head and body resemble an overweight stick figure, with eye and mouth holes of varying sizes carved into its round face, seemingly serving as facial features.

Faris held up the bucket to block a swarm of spirits. The little creature slowly floated in, bumped into the bucket, and then slowly floated out again. Similar sights were everywhere around, as they would occasionally bump into pillars or walls and bounce back up, as if playing a three-dimensional pinball game with themselves.

"The little thing looks like it has no eyesight."

“But their hearing is very good,” Versa said. “You see.”

The band members invited by the student council arrived one after another. One musician picked up his violin to test the sound and was immediately surrounded by sirens who came running at the sound.

Seeing this, the freshmen who had found dance partners in advance began to prepare to go on stage. Faris couldn't find the two familiar figures anywhere and started to get anxious: "It's about to start, are they really going to be late?"

Chapter 43 Our Dance Party Exploded

"I feel it is very necessary for me to have a serious talk with the two of you," Ji Chuanjun said.

The other professors had fled the fire scene long ago. Only this senior professor sat at his desk in the teachers' lounge, with that look of a proper teacher that could make even the most mischievous child sincerely admit their mistake.

The two unfortunate college students sat upright, their expressions showing varying degrees of stiffness.

“Professor, we didn’t mean it…” Pershka was the first to admit his mistake.

Lü Wenjun is still trying to explain: "I have listened attentively to every one of your classes..."

“I have no doubt about this. If the two best students in the first year are not paying attention in class, then the other students can probably skip repeating the year and go straight to the Thousand-Year Cave,” Ji Chuanjun said. “I don’t intend to criticize your attitude towards learning. You do not take your studies lightly, and occasional negligence is harmless.”

Lu Wenjun's hope rekindled: "Then shouldn't we—"

"But I feel it's necessary to talk about the two of you yourselves."

Both of them wore sour faces. Ji Chuanjun said calmly, "Young and impetuous magicians always like to compete with each other. Your competition is not uncommon. I have seen too many students who have gone even further than you. They slander and attack each other, sending themselves and each other to the school hospital in a grand duel."

“We’re not at that point yet…” Pershka was unusually subdued.

“That’s what they thought back then too. They thought it was just a battle of egos, just youthful impetuosity. But conflicts often escalate in confrontation, and students in the same year end up like blood enemies,” Ji Chuanjun said. “Your familiar senior, Fang Mo, suffered in this kind of competition. Fortunately, he had friends to support him, so he didn’t fall to the bottom. But that setback also had a great impact on him, causing him to still be hiding in his hole to this day.”

“Professor.” “We don’t have—”

Ji Chuanjun grew increasingly helpless: "Young people, especially intelligent magicians, are often blinded by emotions and prejudices, unable to see themselves clearly. You have no deep-seated hatred for each other, so why be at odds all the time?"

"I didn't want to meddle, but you are all exceptionally talented young people. Student days are a rare time to make true friends—I don't deny that many people meet close friends after entering society, but such friendships are mixed with a sense of responsibility, interests, and power dynamics, and adult friendships are no longer so pure." Ji Chuanjun said earnestly, "If, a decade or two later, you look back on your youth and remember little of friendship but rather one unpleasant conflict after another, then weren't your student days wasted?"

Lu Wenjun retorted, "Professor, I have something to say about that. I have quite a few friends, it's just that she's aloof."

"You have the nerve to say that you only have three friends!" Pershka scoffed.

"You know what it means to make a crowd of three? I'm a group of friends, while your social circle is zero!"

"I still have three beast witches!"

These two seized the opportunity to start arguing again, completely ignoring the professor's earnest advice. Even Professor Ji was getting a little annoyed: "You two!"

The two quickly shut up; Ji Chuanjun had decided to wage a protracted battle. Just then, Bill hurriedly entered the lounge and whistled loudly: "Hey, Professor Ji, catching young lovers?"

Ji Chuanjun glared at him with eyes as sharp as knives: "Pex Bill!"

Bill instinctively stood at attention: "Here! Oh no, what? Why? Did I say something wrong?"

Meeting the professor's questioning gaze, he cautiously added, "Haven't they been dancing a lot lately? I thought it was..."

Ji Chuanjun was taken aback. She turned her head and noticed an unspeakable embarrassment on the faces of the two young people. She immediately understood.

She gave a half-smile and waved her hand: "Please be mindful of classroom order next time."

"Thank you, Professor!" "Goodbye, Professor!"

Bill winked at them, and the two of them scrambled out of their seats and ran off.

"Bill has saved my life this time..."

“But how did he know? I don’t remember ever seeing him during practice,” Pershka said.

"You weren't the one who leaked the information?"