High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1018: Chapter 80 On Fairness

Generally speaking, Curse Course is the most suitable for idle chatter.

Because a significant portion of the class is devoted to practice, students need to hold the Law book and loudly recite the spells written on it; sometimes, the professor would also bring in some small animals—such as mice, sparrows, and the like—as experimental subjects, adding to the classroom’s degree of chaos.

In such a classroom, idle talk is usually not overheard, and even if it is, others tend not to care.

But today’s Curse Course was not suitable for idle chatter.

After Old Yao stood at the lectern, he spent half the class reviewing the key points of the curses that were taught last semester; then he used the remaining half to go over the final exam papers from last semester.

Throughout the classroom, one could almost only hear his slightly hoarse and weary voice. Even when he asked individual questions, and the classmates answered in a bustling and frenzied fashion, the commotion only lasted for about a dozen seconds before order was quickly restored.

Thus, the quiet conversation between Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao easily caught Old Yao’s attention—standing at the lectern offers a completely different view than sitting behind a desk, and often, the small movements that students believe to be imperceptible were crystal clear to the teachers. Most of the time, the teachers were preoccupied with lecturing, and as long as those small movements were not excessive, they wouldn’t pursue the matter.

But today was different.

As a cost student of Jiuyou Academy, who also boasts many honors such as the recipient of the Merlin Medal and the title of Great Arcana, Zheng Qing’s exam scores were only hovering around average, which was a face-losing concern for Professor Yao, the Dean of Jiuyou College.

What aggravated the professor even more was that Zheng Qing did not seem to have any attitude of repentance during class, instead chatting with Xiao Xiao about topics like transferring to another college.

This was unacceptable.

So, before starting the review of Chaos Spell, Professor Yao directly called on a certain Warlock who was whispering secretly in the back row of the classroom, quite impolitely asking him to explain the key difficulties of the related spell formula, as well as where he went wrong in the final exam.

Zheng Qing stood up with an embarrassed look and, following the professor’s request, analyzed the Chaos Spell.

When he finished answering, Professor Yao did not let him sit down immediately but took the opportunity to give him a lesson, ”See, you do understand. Do you know why you answered incorrectly? Such a simple spell, only five point one percent of the whole first year got it wrong, and you are among that unfortunate five point one percent!”

Zheng Qing felt his face getting hot, and he hung his head low.

Perhaps because it was nearing the end of class and the papers were mostly discussed, after scolding Zheng Qing for his Curse Course paper, Professor Yao expanded the battlefield and started criticizing his other subjects: ”And your Divination, with a GPA of only 3.3! You lost a whole seventeen points on the exam! How did you lose them? Have you analyzed it?”

”At the beginning of last semester, in the very first class, what did I tell you?”

”Symbol, I Ching, Literature—these are the utmost important subjects in your three years of college, the foundation of all advanced magic! Mastering these three subjects means that even the most difficult spells will become second nature to you; failing them means you won’t even understand the scrolls of Witches from a hundred years ago!”

”How could you get such low scores in Divination?”

”With such a low GPA, have you truly reflected on it?”

Zheng Qing had indeed felt a bit embarrassed when he first stood up, but as Old Yao’s voice grew louder and his words more intense, the young Warlock became increasingly defiant—rationally speaking, an eighty-seven in Divination is not a low score even at Jiuyou Academy, not to mention that he had compensated for some GPA from other areas, and his overall performance was not bad.

Just as he was brewing a response to Old Yao’s roaring in his mind, a voice he did not expect spoke out.

”Professor, you’re showing favoritism!” a Gypsy witch sitting on the other side of the classroom raised her hand, her voice ringing loudly in protest, ”Zheng Qing’s exam results are already high... If someone with his scores has to reflect and write a self-criticism, then those of us with just over one or two points should be too ashamed to live on this earth!”

At her protest, a chaotic clamor instantly erupted in the classroom.

Both warlock and witch alike cast ambiguous glances and teasing looks at Zheng Qing and Yilian, the playfulness in the atmosphere so tangible that even the professor on the stage could deeply feel it.

The heat that had risen to Zheng Qing’s face due to embarrassment had already somewhat subsided. But after Yilian spoke up, his blush rebounded dramatically, shooting up like a sharp increase on a chart, burning so intensely he felt his head could catch fire.

”Exactly, exactly!” Li Meng, who was sitting in the first row of the classroom and ever eager for chaos, raised her little arm and clamored, ”Zheng Qing’s rank is third in the final comprehensive ranking! Even my sister thinks his grades are good...”

Jiang Yu, sitting beside the little witch, quickly grabbed a babbling Li Meng, slapping her hand firmly over her mouth while frantically denying, ”Not me, I didn’t say anything, she’s talking nonsense...”

Seeing the noise in the classroom rising, Professor Yao finally couldn’t suppress himself and coughed loudly several times.

The resounding coughs, like thunderclaps, boomed and reverberated within the enclosed classroom.

The students promptly covered their ears and closed their mouths, returning to quiet once more.

After a while, when the classroom had completely quieted down, Old Yao took out a pipe from his chest pocket, tapped it on the lecture desk, and his tone became somewhat stern: ”Do you think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill or being partial?”

He gazed steadily at the young wizards before him and shook his head: ”No, that’s not the case.”

”We are Jiuyou Academy, and our educational philosophy is fairness and equality... The best practice that reflects this philosophy is our examinations. In-class quizzes, midterms, finals, advancement tests, and so on.”

”We are not Starry Sky Academy; you don’t need to come to school with bruises and scratches, nor do you need to spend days on end in the infirmary.”

”Nor are we Atlas; you don’t need to study ancient texts under dim lamplights, nor do you have to chant in front of clay and wooden idols.”

”We also are not Alpha Academy! You don’t need to waste too much energy in the Hunting Ground, waste time on campus activities unrelated to learning, waste in social interactions... even if those activities can bring you a lot of credits!”

”For a true Jiuyou student, those are nothing but detours!”

”You can take those detours for honor, for pride, or even for the sake of examination and promotion, that’s fine, the college doesn’t forbid it, nor will it block these paths.”

”But these are not the right path for a Jiuyou Academy student.”

”If we consider the examination methods of Alpha Academy, with their myriad styles and endless means, I only ask one question, is it fair and equal?”

As the professor finished his last rhetorical question, the bell signaling the end of class rang just in time.

Old Yao, gripping his pipe, tapped it one last time on the lecture desk, looked around, said ’Class dismissed,’ then gathered his lecture notes and strode out of the classroom.