Starforce Warriors

Chapter 390: Cave Dormitory

To be precise, is this really a university from five hundred years in the future?

The university’s entrance gate seemed straight from a mountain temple, while the buildings inside all had a traditional, classical charm. The houses were made of brick, tile, and wood, and were devoid of any modern elements. The tallest tower was only nine stories high.

Dormitories, libraries, and classrooms were all built with ancient-style brick and wood structures, using mortise and tenon joints. From afar, the campus looked like an ancient ruin nestled into the mountains. @@novelbin@@

The people walking around campus, whether teachers or students, were dressed like the two carriage drivers in long, traditional robes of various colors. Those with shorter hair let it flow freely, while those with longer hair had it tied up in ancient-style buns.

Notably, the entire campus was filled with greenery, giving it a serene, picturesque quality rarely seen in the modern base cities of this era.

At that moment, Li Xiaofei felt as if he had traveled through time again.

Beside him, Ding Rong smiled sweetly as she explained to Li Junjie, "Junior Brother, you can tell from the name White Deer Academy that our school is a highly traditional martial arts institution, completely different from 99 percent of the other schools."

Li Junjie scratched the back of his head. This simple gesture was seen by the seven sisters as a sign of his honest and humble nature.

The third sister, Song Lingge, said, "Let’s go register and get enrolled first. We can explain everything to you on the way."

The lively group of girls chattered and laughed as they guided their young champion. Meanwhile, Li Xiaofei, the yellow-haired girl, and Wang Xiaofan followed behind. After completing the registration process at the administration building, Li Xiaofei finally began to understand a few things.

For example, although White Deer Academy also had four grade levels, it didn’t have separate departments or majors. Each grade was divided into five houses: the Eastern Blue-Robe House, the Southern Purple-Robe House, the Central White-Robe House, the Northern Yellow-Robe House, and the Western Red-Robe House.

These house assignments were determined by the academy based on each student's assessment report and were already decided before they even enrolled.

For example, Li Xiaofei, Li Junjie, and Wang Xiaofan were all assigned to the Eastern Blue-Robe House. Each house had a chief instructor. Beneath them were five other instructors, each teaching either internal energy, movement techniques, weapons, medicine, and formations.

Yes, these were the only five subjects taught at White Deer Academy. All students were required to study all five. After graduating in their fourth year, if students wished, they could apply to stay at the academy to continue their cultivation and studies, and White Deer Academy would treat them the same as enrolled students.

The entire school lacked most modern facilities. In fact, students were generally discouraged from using light cores. The only place on campus with a limited number of light core terminals was the library. Those were mainly used for accessing the college league competitions.

Compared to many universities in Great Xia today, White Deer Academy was completely out of place. It really seemed like a martial arts sect transported from ancient times.

After completing his registration, Li Xiaofei received his freshman kit. It included a dormitory key card, an identity tag made from an unknown metal, two sets of blue robes, white inner clothing, hairpins, hairbands, and a pair of black boots.

"I’ll send you on your way... uh, I mean, I’ll show you the way... the way to the dormitory." The yellow-haired girl stammered awkwardly.

Li Xiaofei had learned that this young girl, Long Anquan, was a second-year student from the Eastern Blue-Robe House. She had chosen the name herself.

Li Xiaofei was her mentee. This was a tradition at White Deer Academy. Each year, new students were assigned a second-year student as a guide by the academy to help them quickly become familiar with everything at the school.

The reason the seven sisters had been so eager to help Li Junjie with his luggage was because he had been recognized as the best genius of the Eastern Blue-Robe House, and they wanted to compete for the chance to be his guide.

If the mentee performed well, the guide would be recognized by the academy and be rewarded with resources and academic credits. More importantly, who wouldn’t want to befriend a top-tier genius?

They walked along winding mountain paths until they eventually reached a cliff face. The cliff was as smooth as a mirror and looked as if it had been sliced by a single sword. Three stone caves had been carved side by side into the cliff. The stone doors were shut tight. This was Li Xiaofei’s dormitory.

Li Xiaofei glanced at his key card. East 02. It was the middle of the three stone caves. He stepped forward and pushed the door with his hand, but the stone door didn’t budge. He was slightly surprised. With his strength, a casual push should have moved even a massive stone, yet this door...

Li Xiaofei examined it carefully. He noticed that the stone door was covered with patterns that looked like decorative carvings. But upon closer inspection, he could see the shared structure and the beauty of the connections between these lines.

“You look like you’ve never seen this before... uh, no, I mean, it’s understandable you haven’t seen... ugh, I mean, it’s normal that you’ve never encountered formation lines before. White Deer Academy is one of the few schools that studies them,” Long Anquan explained.

Li Xiaofei nodded.

It’s impressive that this kid really survived this long without getting smacked. But... Formation lines? This sounded a bit fantastical.

Is it like something from ancient mystical arts, such as Qimen Dunjia or the nine-palace eight-trigram formation diagrams?

That didn’t seem quite right either. The presence of these lines shouldn’t be enough to manifest energy, yet the patterns on the stone door appeared to have endowed the otherwise thin door with an extraordinary level of defense. When Li Xiaofei applied force, the lines seemed to subtly ripple with a faint warmth.

Interesting!

Li Xiaofei took out his key card and inserted it into the slot in the door. Something clicked, and the stone door slowly began to open inward. A clean, tidy passage appeared before him, leading to a main hall with two side chambers. The total area was about 80 square meters.

There was a stone table and stone chairs in the main hall, while one of the side chambers had a stone bed. The other chamber contained only a white jade meditation cushion

A gentle natural breeze flowed through, making the stone chamber feel fresh, even when the door was shut. Six fist-sized glowing stone orbs were embedded in the ceiling, and their brightness could be adjusted using the formation lines.

"This is great! We’re going to be neighbors!" Wang Xiaofan exclaimed excitedly.

He was curious about everything in the academy. The people and the environment here gave him a deep sense of security, allowing him to forget, at least temporarily, the biting cold winds and the ever-present threat of ice bears on the Tacheng ice plains. He was especially happy with the enclosed dormitory cave, since he could finally sleep peacefully.

As they were talking, another neighbor arrived. It was a pale boy who, even from a distance, exuded an air of overwhelming wealth and nobility. His steps were unsteady, and his hair was slicked back in a shiny style. He wore a suit, leather shoes, and a trench coat, looking for all the world like a martial world's version of Chow Yun-fat[1] from Shanghai Bund.

"Dammit! Is this rat hole really my dormitory?" The boy cursed as he saw the cave. "Even the dogs at my house live better than this!"

1. Chow Yun-fat SBS, previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility, encompassing action to melodrama and comedy and historical drama, he is the recipient of various accolades, including three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor and two Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor. ☜