In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

She was a woman with slightly dark skin, holding a pen and paper in her hand.

She would record everything Hazard said truthfully.

Setare.

He is hailed as the most accomplished desert scholar in history, and also the desert scholar whose name was mentioned most often by Rhodes before he entered the examination room.

Unlike Hazard, who was already enraged.

Upon hearing that a desert student had suddenly emerged this year who broke her record and achieved perfect scores in two subjects, Setare's first reaction was curiosity.

She was really curious.

No one in the entire Academy knew better than her what a learning environment the desert was like.

Although she loved her hometown, she had to admit that the desert environment made it almost impossible to cultivate a double genius like Rhodes.

As a genius who also came from the desert.

In Setare's heart, she hopes that one day, after completing her studies, she can return to her hometown to help improve the harsh environment of the desert.

Based on this idea.

Setare was actually quite dissatisfied with what the Church had done.

She has expressed her indignation, especially regarding the Church's stance on the desert, on more than one occasion.

Setare had also thought about it.

By helping the Order of the Church in this way, she was essentially bullying the Desert in disguise, becoming an accomplice of the Order of the Church.

It would be better to go back to the desert and contribute to its development.

No matter how lofty one's ideals may be, they will eventually be crushed by reality.

Just when she was about to score, Setare backed down.

She chose to give up returning to the desert and stay in the Church of Jesus Christ, burying her guilt towards her hometown deep in her heart, and continuing to climb to a higher position in the Church of Jesus Christ.

After all these years...

She had almost forgotten the vow she made back then.

But just today.

Upon hearing that yet another desert genius had emerged, she suddenly felt an urge to get to know Rhodes and find out how he had managed to do it.

At the same time, she wanted to know more.

Why did Rhodes, a desert dweller, enter the Order of the Church? What will he do after graduation? Will he return to the desert?

Think of this.

Setare's hand trembled slightly, and the words she had just written became crooked and quite irregular.

Next.

Then another sage in the same conference room said, "A genius has emerged from the desert people. What, Hazard, do you have a problem with that?"

This sage, who was not afraid of Hazard's authority and dared to confront him head-on, was a resolute old man. Unlike the other sages who were still frowning and deep in thought, he immediately slammed his fist on the table and started arguing with Hazard as soon as he heard that Hazard had questioned Rhodes's grades.

He is Nafis.

The teacher of Tinari.

He was also a sage known for his fiery temper.

Just how fiery was Nafis's temper?

The students of the Order of the Church all say that even the Great Sage has to give him some leeway.

This is true.

Nafis is not only arguing with Hazard, but he has also slammed Rhodes's test paper in front of Hazard, spitting so hard that it almost hits Hazard's face.

If it weren't for the other sages intervening...

Judging from his expression, it seems he's ready to roll up his sleeves and give Hazard a physical lecture.

"He doesn't look like a sage at all."

Seeing Nafis being pulled away, Hazard suppressed his anger and took out a silk handkerchief to wipe the spittle off his body.

No matter how angry he was with Nafis.

This guy is, after all, a sage of the life theory school, with extremely deep seniority.

Within the Academy, he was only one rank below himself, the Great Sage, and had numerous students under his command, wielding immense influence.

Therefore, even though Hazard really wanted to teach him a lesson and show him who was in charge in the Order of the Fathers, he had to hold back time and time again.

At this time.

A sage who had been sitting upright like a mountain, wearing glasses and observing coldly, sneered and said, "Hmph, in my opinion, he must have cheated. With the knowledge of the desert people, how could he possibly get full marks in two subjects? Great Sage, I suggest that his grades be canceled. Such a cheater is not worthy of entering the Order of the Church."

Hear this.

Setare's hand trembled again, and the meeting minutes she had just rewritten were scrambled once more.

Yes.

The sages have always treated the desert people this way.

Without even any evidence, they hastily concluded that it must be cheating.

I went through the same thing back then.

If the Order of the Church hadn't given me a chance to retake the exam and prove my abilities, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today.

"Cavaja!"

"You're accusing someone of cheating without even seeing them? Be careful, or I'll sue you for academic defamation and let Sino arrest you."

The speaker's name is Gülesh.

A sage of the Sulun school of the Church, and Seno's teacher.

same.

Like Nafis, he was also a rather unconventional sage within the Council of the Church.

In the past, the Church discovered the young Seno in the desert, who possessed the power of Hermanubis. Azar used him as an experimental subject and handed him over to Gülesh for observation and research, hoping to use Seno to study how to obtain the power of Hermanubis, a divine power.

As a result, Güleš completely ignored what Hazard said.

He adopted Seno as his son, personally taught and raised him, and also taught Seno the principle that "wisdom needs to be bound by teachings in order to protect the safety of seekers of knowledge and maintain the stability of the world."

This is why Seno ultimately chose to become the disciplinary officer.

By the way.

Sino learned to tell corny jokes from him.

As a child, Seno had an unstable internal power and an extremely irritable personality, often causing trouble.

In order to restrain his behavior.

Whenever Seno went berserk, Güleche would force him to calm down by telling lame jokes.

As a result, when Seno grew up, he perfectly inherited this trait and became a master of lame jokes that everyone feared.

After Güleš finished speaking.

The atmosphere in the meeting room calmed down a bit.

The crime of defaming academic work.

This is one of the six prohibitions of the Council of the Sages, and even a sage like Seno has the right to arrest him.

Thus, the current situation has become a two-on-two situation among the six sages.

Hazard and Cavajra were planning to disqualify Roddell from the game and kick him out as a cheater.

Nafis and Güleche were determined to admit Rhodes into the College of the Church.

After a brief exchange of glances, the remaining two sages decisively chose to abstain, leaving the four of them to continue their deadly struggle.

I can't afford it.

No one can afford to offend them.

Hazard is a great sage, and holds a highly respected position.

Nafis is really capable of beating people up.

As for Gülech, needless to say, relying on having a disciple of the Grand Disciplinary Officer, he constantly talks about having Seno arrest you.

Nobody wants to get themselves into this trouble.

The best thing to do is to keep quiet and be honest.

They stared at each other for quite a while.

Hazard, who had been silent all along, finally relented: "If you want to prove that you didn't cheat, then set up a separate exam room and answer the questions again."

"No."

Nafis was the first to disagree.

“I’ve seen this child’s exam paper, and there is absolutely no possibility of cheating.”

"And I've checked the Void."

"He has never studied at any college affiliated with the Church."

"Hazard, do you understand what this means?"

Nafis stared intently at Hazard.

If looks could kill, Hazard would probably be torn to pieces by now.

Hazard's answer is not needed.

Everyone present understood what Nafis meant.

He did not study at any college affiliated with the Church of Christ.

This means that Rhodes was self-taught.