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There was still a little time before Skyspan Academy’s classes began, and new students were registering at the highest rate yet. Most of those wandering around the academy were recruiting new blood for their various student societies, or alternatively, were new students searching for the best possible society to join.

 

In the shade of a tree there was a somewhat shabby-looking recruitment center. Ye Zichen sat there with a straw hat on his head, leaning against the tree trunk.

 

“Achoo!” Ye Zichen rubbed his nose and lifted the brim of his straw hat. “Who’s talking about me behind my back?”

 

The past few days had been incomparably bitter for Ye Zichen. Not just anyone could recruit new students. Never mind their talent or strength; so long as a potential recruit was breathing, the various student societies would fight tooth and nail over them.

 

They might have been recent ascenders, but in just a few days, they’d grown shrewd.

 

Every last one of them was waiting to see who gave them the best offer before joining any societies. 

 

Ye Zichen didn’t take the initiative either, so very few supremes had come to talk to him of their own volitions.

 

“I really walked right into a thieves’ den.” Ye Zichen leaned against a tree, lowered his head, and muttered to himself. He never would have suspected Xue Mo would play such a petty trick on him.

 

He couldn’t break the contract, either. He could already sense the Laws constricting him.

 

It was strange, though; based on what Ye Zichen had learned over the past few days, the Anti-Upheaval Society was once the strongest in the academy. At their peak, the other top-four academies couldn’t touch them, not even if they all joined forces.

 

Although a lot had happened since, a starving camel was still larger than a horse.

 

So why was it that whenever someone saw that he was recruiting new blood on behalf of Upheaval, they avoided him like the plague?

 

“It doesn’t make sense.” Ye Zichen pulled the brim of his hat over his eyes and nestled further into the tree. He’d spent the past few days like this. He’d come here at dawn, sleep until nightfall, then go to bed. As for his results….

 

Nothing! He hadn’t recruited a single student.

 

Rustle...Rustle…

 

Ye Zichen’s ears twitched. At this level, he could clearly discern even the slightest of sounds.

 

Just now, he’d clearly heard the sound of someone approaching.

 

He lifted his hat and, as expected, there was someone standing right in front of him. It was someone he knew; the man who’d put on such a “cute act” a few days ago to try and recruit him, Bao Jingwu.

 

“Squad Leader Bao, where’d you find the time to come visit me?” Ye Zichen brushed the dirt off his clothes and stood up. “Isn’t the relationship between our societies rather poor? If that big sister from the sixth platoon sees you, you’ll be in trouble!”

 

Bao Jingwu rubbed his hands together and smiled flatteringly. “Brother Ye, I’ll skip the pleasantries and get to the point. Actually, I’m here because… Platoon Leader Sun sent me.”

 

Ye Zichen arched his brows. “She sent you here?”

 

Bao Jingwu nodded. “Our Platoon Leader sent me over to ask if you had any interest in joining our Grizzly Bear Society. So long as you agree, she can guarantee you a position as vice platoon leader, and you can enjoy the same level of benefits as our society’s sky supremes.”

 

“Huh.” Ye Zichen saw jealousy in Bao Jingwu’s eyes. 

 

That made sense, now that he thought of it. He was a brand-new student with no contributions to his name, yet Sun Jialing was willing to promote him to vice platoon leader and give him a sky supreme’s benefits right off the bat?  

Who wouldn’t be jealous? 

 

But Ye Zichen didn’t get it. Why would Sun Jialing do something like that?

 Was it because of her fight with Xue Mo?  

If that were true, womens’ fights were terrifying indeed.

 

Her offer was tempting, but Ye Zichen had already joined the Anti-Upheaval Society, so he had no choice but to refuse. “I’m sorry, but I’m already part of Anti-Upheaval.”

 

With that, he flashed his society badge. Their symbol was a dove. Ye Zichen had once asked why they’d chose a dove as their symbol, and Chen Guangfa replied that Anti-Upheaval was about pacifism, and that doves represented peace. Using one as their emblem was a reminder of their longing for peace.

 

Bao Jingwu suddenly looked a little anxious. “Brother Ye, even if you’ve joined a society already, it’s possible to leave. Anti-Upheaval is a thing of the past. Right now, our Grizzly Bear Society is the strongest in the academy. You definitely won’t regret joining us. Come on!”

 

“I won’t go.” Ye Zichen shrugged. 

 

“Brother Ye!” To Ye Zichen’s surprise, Bao Jingwu grabbed him by the shoulder. He seemed on the verge of tears. “Take this as me begging you. Platoon Leader Sun ordered that I must rope you in no matter what. If you refuse, I’ll lose my position as squad leader. They might even wipe my name from the Grizzly Bear Society’s registers.”

 

“Isn’t that perfect, though? You can just join me instead.” Ye Zichen patted Bao Jingwu’s shoulders and said welcomingly, “Hurry up and leave the Grizzly Bears, then join Anti-Upheaval instead. If you do, nevermind being a squad leader, you can become a platoon leader! Besides, think about it… Although Anti-Upheaval is at a low ebb, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Our society’s resources are still more plentiful than other societies’.”

 

“The Grizzly Bears are an undeniably powerful society with lots of resources, but they’re overpopulated! Even if they were wealthier, their resources are spread too thin to treat everyone equally. If you follow me, it’ll be different. Our society only has a few people, so you’ll get much more resources than you would back at the Grizzly Bear Society.”

 

“Think about it. When you go home or visit your old friends, won’t saying you’re a platoon leader of the Anti-Upheaval Society sound a lot better than calling yourself a squad leader of the Grizzly Bear Society?”

 

Bao Jingwu’s expression actually seemed to waver. Ye Zichen decided to go with it; one recruit was better than nothing….

 

“Come on over; the benefits will far exceed your imagination!”

 

“Little Brother, I sent him to convert you to our cause, not for you to convert him to yours,” said a voice accompanied by a clear breeze and the faint smell of perfume.

 

They looked over and say Sun Jialing sashaying over. She was undoubtedly a rare beauty. Whether it was her figure, her face, or her usual expression, they were enough to make countless men bow before her. In fact, as she walked over, an unknowable number of men stopped in their tracks to stare at her.

 

She had obviously recovered from her fear following Xue Mo’s attack. She played with her long hair and pursed her lips, then stopped about half a meter away from Ye Zichen.

 

Bao Jingwu immediately greeted, her, “Platoon Leader…”

 

“Bao Jingwu, you’re really something. If I hadn’t shown up, would you have really left our society?” Sun Jialing crossed her arms and laughed drily. “You’ve really disappointed me.”

 

“Platoon Leader, I…”

 

“What about you?” Su Jialing shot him a scathing look and silenced him, then turned to Ye Zichen. “Little Brother, sniping others’ subordinates like this is immoral.”

 

“Then it’s okay for you to try and lure me away?”

 

“I’m simply stating the facts. If you come to our side, you’ll obtain far more than you would in the Anti-Upheaval Society. Besides, if someone lets themself get stolen, is it really stealing?” 

 

“What a double standard,” said Ye Zichen with an exasperated laugh. “But I rather approve of that last sentence of yours. ‘If someone lets themselves get stolen, is it really stealing?’ …. Bao Jingwu, follow me! There’s a lot in it for you!”

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