Chapter 59: It’s an S-Rank Dungeon!

Jiang Zihan and Mo Shiyan exchanged a glance before walking together toward the student who had spoken first. Jiang Zihan bent down and helped him to his feet. "How are you feeling right now?" he asked.

That student gave him a grateful look before he tried to steady himself and stand up straight.

Seeing that the student wasn’t seriously injured, Jiang Zihan let out a sigh of relief before asking him what had happened just before.

However, the student’s reaction was stronger than he had expected. "I don’t even want to think about what had just happened. She’s literally a demon!" the student cried out as he recounted what Bai Lan had done in broken sentences.

From his incoherent words, they somehow understood what Bai Lan had done. The second the class began, Bai Lan had attacked the students without giving them the time to react, and defeated every one of them without holding back at all.

"She’s a total demon! I’m definitely gonna report her to the dean as soon as class is over!" the student shouted at the very end.

"Oh...? Demon? That’s how you think of me?" a cold female voice suddenly rose from behind.

"Ah—!!!"

The student screamed before he turned around, and because of that, he accidentally slipped and fell to the ground, hitting hard on his butt.

"OUCH!"

Bai Lan stood there and stared at that student for a while. Just as Jiang Zihan thought that she was about to do something to the student, she suddenly took an ointment out from her spatial ring and handed it over to him before walking directly past the three of them.

Jiang Zihan froze for a moment as he saw her return to the center of the training field. It seems like... this teacher is a bit different than he thought.

However, he totally threw that thought to the back of his mind after the end of this class, but that’s a story for another time.

Realizing that the student was still sitting on the floor, he quickly pulled the student back up to his feet.

"Ten minutes is up. Let us officially begin our first lesson," Bai Lan said. Magical energy began to run through her body, and suddenly, a blue glow lighted above her palm, turning brighter and brighter at the same time...

——

BANG!

Li Qing, the principal of the Interstellar Ice Hunting Academy, slammed a pile of paper heavily onto the desk as he glared furiously at Bai Lan. The loud noise immediately attracted Song Yuan’s attention, which he sneaked his head out and looked toward.

Bai Lan, however, didn’t even blink an eye. She looked as calm as she usually was, looking as if nothing in front of her mattered to her.

Li Qing took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

It wasn’t the first time anyway... there’s no need to be so angry. He thought as he closed his eyes and opened them again.

However, seeing Bai Lan’s expression, anger rushed within him again. He picked up the cup of tea from the table and took a sip before he gasped for breath. Then he sat back down and looked at Bai Lan.

"Bai Lan... do you still remember how many complaints you received last semester?" he asked.

Although he tried to control his anger, Song Yuan (as someone who had worked alongside him for more than thirty years) could still feel that he was already gritting his teeth. Song Yuan took a look at Bai Lan before gently shaking his head.

It was already the third time Bai Lan entered this office during the month, but the problem is...

Song Yuan turned his head and looked toward the calendar. It had only been the third day of the month.

"Thirty-five," Bai Lan replied, her voice not showing even a single sign of apology.

Li Qing felt that he was about to cough up blood. He rested a hand on the table to allow himself to stand up straight before demanding, "Since you know that there have been so many complaints last semester, then why can’t you teach in a different way?!"

"How?" Bai Lan asked.

"For example... try to be a little gentler!" Li Qing said, struggling to reason with her. "They’re just students who have just awakened a new ability. They’re not used to their new power yet. You need to explain the principles to them first."

"Explain to them? I can explain everything to them, but would the monsters in the dungeon listen to their explanations? The moment they choose to step into a Hunter Academy, they have already chosen to become a professional Hunter, and a Hunter’s responsibility is to step forward when a dungeon descends and protect others."

"If they are being taught without real combat experience, how are they supposed to grow?" Bai Lan demanded. As always, she was not willing to yield at all, causing his mind to turn blank completely.

However, recalling what happened in the past, Li Qing only let out a sigh before falling silent. After a long moment, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "Bai Lan... I know that you are still hung up on what happened back then, but the past is the past. It has been ten years already; why do you still have to torture yourself?"

Hearing this, Bai Lan’s expression changed for the very first time. Then she let out a bitter smile and muttered, "Let go? How could I let go? All of them... every one of them died because of me. Every time I close my eyes, I see their faces; they were asking me why I didn’t save them back then."

"Yeah... Why didn’t I save them?" she asked herself in a whisper.

"Bai Lan!" Li Qing called out, bringing her back to reality.

"You can’t live in the past forever! Your students wouldn’t want to see you like this, either," Ling Qing said, his tone stern.

The atmosphere in the office slowly changed as both of them fell into silence. Finally, Bai Lan lifted her head and replied in a low voice. "Let me think about it."

Then, before Li Qing had the chance to speak, Bai Lan had already left the office, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

"Wait—!!"

Li Qing’s hand stopped awkwardly in mid-air. Seeing that Song Yuan was staring at him curiously, he pressed a hand on his lips and let out a soft cough, trying to break that feeling of awkwardness.

Song Yuan pretended that he did not see the principal’s hidden movements and nicely brought the conversation back to the original topic. "Are you really gonna let Bai Lan continue like this?" he asked with concern.

Hearing his words, Li Qing’s expression started to turn serious. After a few seconds, he let out a sigh. "What happened at that time... it was all my fault. If I didn’t—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Song Yuan had already stood up from the chair, leading to a loud sound as the chair scraped loudly against the floor.

"Li Qing, it’s not your fault, nor is it Bai Lan’s fault. No one could have known that there was a mistake," he said sharply, but Li Qing could somehow feel that his voice had been trembling.

"I’m also very sad about what had happened, but that’s not anyone’s fault," he continued, meeting Li Qing’s eyes. "You wanted to persuade Bai Lan to forget about it, but have you let go of it yourself?"

Li Qing lowered his eyes; his thoughts returned to that day ten years ago.

Ten years ago—

Song Yuan suddenly slammed the door open and walked quickly into the office. Li Qing lifted his head from the pile of documents he was reviewing and was just about to ask why Song Yuan was so anxious when Song Yuan pressed both hands against his table and said urgently, "The team Bai Lan is leading is trapped inside the dungeon. I request immediate assistance!"

Li Qing was shocked by the seriousness in Song Yuan’s words, but because of his trust toward Song Yuan, Li Qing still called a number and said, "I would like immediate assistance for a dungeon... yes, an A-Rank Hunter should be enough—"

However, before Li Qing was able to finish his sentence, Song Yuan quickly yelled out, "We need an S-Rank Hunter!"

Li Qing lowered his phone and stared at him. "Are you serious? The team that Bai Lan led, didn’t they enter a B-Rank dungeon? Even if there’s a problem, an A-Rank Hunter should be enough to handle the situation."

"Requesting support from an S-Rank Hunter isn’t easy; Bai Lan is an A-Rank Hunter herself, and what is it that even she isn’t able to handle?" Li Qing couldn’t help but ask.

Song Yuan didn’t have enough time to explain in detail. "The Hunter Association got the dungeon’s rating wrong. It’s not a B-Rank dungeon; it’s an S-Rank dungeon!!" he immediately shouted.

"What—?!!"