Douluo: A Century-old Legend I Am the Second Uncle Chenxin

Chapter 1423 The Academy Layout, Zhuang Mochen's Complaints

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Chenlin Village, Lanxin Mountain.

On the training ground next to the ancestral hall, a dozen figures leaned against the vermilion pillars or stood in front of the white marble steps, all gazing at the stone gate deep in the training ground, which was engraved with a relief of a soul beast.

Before the morning mist had dissipated, wisps of faint soul power emanated from the cracks in the stone gate.

The main entrance on the second floor.

Xia Yun sat with her arms crossed in the shade of the corridor, Zhuang Mochen sipped tea leisurely while rubbing the black jade thumb ring on his thumb, Wang Wei took out a wine pot but then put it back, and Chen Xiaojun accompanied her by gently waving a folding fan, the landscape painting on the fan surface faintly flowing with soul power ripples.

Xia Yun raised an eyebrow slightly and joked, "Brother Zhuang is probably experiencing both pain and pleasure right now."

Zhuang Mochen shook his head helplessly and replied with a wry smile, "This is all thanks to your Chen family for taking the lead in donating, and the Liuli Chamber of Commerce followed closely behind. Now the threshold of the academy's reception room is almost worn out by the crowds."

"The clan crests of the ten major families, the purple-gold invitations from Wanbaoge, and even people from Douhun City came one after another, neatly stacked on the sandalwood table, all to discuss 'strategic donation cooperation'."

What exactly are these old foxes up to?
The Soul Master group is full of high-spending individuals; they are all future and present sugar daddies!

At the suggestion of the Chen family, the Liuli Chamber of Commerce directly leased fifty acres of land in the southeast corner to build a nine-story glazed tower-style library.

The library's exterior walls are entirely made of glazed bricks from the Western Sea (provided by Poseidon Island), which shimmer and sparkle in the sunlight, making it look like a crystal palace.

Xia Yun crossed her arms and chuckled, "Xiao Jun keeps touting what he calls the number one academy on the continent, all that hype. But look at the current enrollment trends and provincial competition results, I think they're all going crazy."

Chen Xiaojun said dismissively, "This is our grand vision for Chang'an, and the academy has openly acknowledged it."

Zhuang Mochen rolled his eyes and said irritably, "We're admitting it reluctantly, okay?"

Chen Xiaojun snapped his folding fan shut, spread his hands, and laughed, "The academy's enrollment is in full swing right now. Even if you don't want to admit it, you have no choice."

Zhuang Mochen was so angry that he glared at Chen Xiaojun and said, "The academy is so eager to recruit students that it's hateful, but you're just following behind, paving the way and reaping the benefits."

"Otherwise, how could Brother Xia be so busy? I've fallen for your trick and become your shield!"

Chang'an Academy attracts a large number of highly qualified talents by competing for students. Although Chang'an Academy still showed some leniency to Southern Academy and its enrollment efforts were not as strong as those in Central and Southern Academy, Chang'an Academy already had a strong attraction in the five southern counties, which undoubtedly put enormous pressure on Southern Academy.

These academies naturally couldn't sit still, so what did they do? Of course, they went to the Chen family.

The Chen family has summarized their effective experience in improving awakening aptitude and formed a system.

In Chenlin Village, the talents of the young people are at a relatively high level under the cultivation of this system, and they are all integrated into the Chenlin Village's comprehensive Soul Master training system.

These carefully nurtured students, once they join these academies, can fill the small gap left by the high-end talents being recruited by Chang'an Academy, leaving behind a small group of top students. With their own efforts, they can make up for some of the losses.

Take the four outstanding disciples at the Earthly Fiend level who joined the Five Mountains Academy as an example; getting third place is the best example.

Among these southern colleges, Si Baining and Wei Xinzhi were the quickest to react.

In fact, despite the overall improvement in strength in the provincial competition, Xingyun Academy and Sanshan Academy not only did not regress, but their rankings improved by several places.

Zhu Shizhen and Zhu Changfeng deserve much credit for this. Like Luo Chaozi, they also brought two Earthly Fiend Star-level disciples. Although they were ranked lower, they each had their own unique strengths.

Both academies conveyed their willingness to cooperate to the Chen family through Zhu and Zhu.

……

After the Chen family re-emerged, under the leadership of Chen Yu, the leaders of Chenlin Village quickly launched a strategic deployment in the Fasno region.

The Chen family was once a semi-reclusive family. Not to mention that they relied on branches and collateral branches to obtain certain benefits, the core pillar of their own industry actually relied on the field of education and was carefully maintained under the cover of their teacher status.

Against this backdrop, the academy system naturally became the top priority in the Chen family's strategic layout.

In the five southern prefectures, the Chen family first established a presence at the Five Mountains Academy, while simultaneously extending their reach to the neighboring Starfall Prefecture and Chang'an Prefecture, establishing presences at Starfall Academy and Three Mountains Academy respectively.

This strategic layout coincides with the Jinyiwei's early strategy of recruiting academy graduates. Starfall Academy excels in support and control-type soul skills, while Three Mountains Academy, similar to Shining Stone Academy, is known for its rock-type martial souls and is good at defense, which is highly consistent with the Jinyiwei's emphasis on defense.

As Si Baining said, Luo Chaozi, Zhu Shiyuan, Zhu Shizhen, Zhu Changfeng, and even Qin Xihui who went to Qinglin, are all Soul Emperor level.

In ordinary advanced academies, Soul Saint level experts are extremely rare.

Therefore, all Soul Saint level experts possess the strength to compete for the positions of vice dean of these academies.

Even at Chang'an Academy, among its senior teaching staff, there are only a dozen or so Soul Saints.

However, Si Baining made one mistake in her judgment.

Due to its own development needs, the Chen family would never invest its existing Soul Saint experts into the academy system, as they don't even have enough for their own use.

Moreover, becoming an excellent teacher is no easy task, and strong academic ability does not equate to outstanding teaching ability.

However, thanks to its profound heritage and mature training system, the Chen family has unique advantages in teaching, educating, and conducting theoretical research. Members of the family with these talents have a higher success rate and are often able to grow into outstanding educational talents more quickly.

In light of this, the Chen family decided to provide resources and support to help them advance to the Soul Saint level, thereby expanding their influence in these academies.

Currently, Chen Xiaojun has proposed at the family meeting that special resources be allocated to support these Soul Emperor-level powerhouses in advancing to Soul Saint.

……

Xia Yun gently rubbed his temples and said with a wry smile, "I am indeed quite busy. That woman, Si Baining, is really ruthless."

"She had only been back at Tianfeng Academy for a month when she actually managed to persuade half of the graduates to join our Embroidered Uniform Guard."

“Brother Zhuang, Brother Wang, no wonder you all call her ‘crazy woman’ in private.”

Zhuang Mochen picked up his celadon cup, took a sip of tea, and narrowed his eyes slightly through the steaming tea vapor: "What a fine pledge of allegiance. Si Baining's ambitions are quite grand."

Wang Wei's tiger-like eyes widened, and he slammed his large, fan-like hand on the table, smacking his lips: "What conditions did she offer your Chen family? It couldn't just be that she wanted those child soldiers to serve in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, could it?"

Chen Xiaojun and Xia Yun exchanged a meaningful glance.

After Chen Cong established himself at Chang'an Academy and Zhuo Qianren broke through to the Title Douluo level, he led Zhuang Mochen and Wang Wei to side with the Silver Feather Alliance and the Chen family.

Now that Chang'an Academy is considered an external force of the Chen family, some things can be said openly.

Chen Xiaojun gently waved his folding fan, "Si Baining has offered three conditions..."

Zhuang Mochen spun the black jade ring in his hand: "Wonderful! Si Baining's timing is precise, and her speed is even more terrifying."

"She originally set her sights on the academy league five years from now, but now there are rumors that an academy league may be established. She is trying to take advantage of this to push Tianfeng Academy into the limelight and is ready to make a big splash."

"Indeed impressive. Look, Grandpa Xia Yun has come to select people." Chen Xiaojun's fingertips traced the fan ribs, and a cold light flowed between his nails.

Wang Wei frowned deeply and said in a deep voice, "Your family members are really in high demand."

He then changed the subject, "However, I always felt it wasn't that simple."

"The Si family has always been stubborn and resourceful; I'm afraid it's not just that."

"They definitely have deeper plans."

"What do you think, Brother Xia?" Zhuang Mochen suddenly turned to look at the silent Xia Yun.

Xia Yun tapped lightly with his knuckles, a cold light flashing in his amber pupils, and suddenly sneered, "Si Baining!"

Zhuang Mochen and Wang Wei exchanged a glance, both seeing astonishment in each other's eyes.

The black jade thumb ring made a soft, rustling sound as it was rubbed against his palm. Zhuang Mochen murmured, "So that's how it is... The Si family is going to use the entire Tianfeng Academy as a dowry to send it to the Chen family."

(End of this chapter)