"Ah! We greet Vice-Principal!!"

The resounding respectful shouts of all top-ranked geniuses blared around in their dark purple gorgeous courtyard. Every genius turned to the Vice Principal and respectfully bowed their heads.

As per usual, the Vice Principal indifferently acknowledges these geniuses for some courtesy on her part. Yet, a small smirk cracked on her face when she only observed two particular exceptional geniuses.

Darcel and Aniela were the only ones standing tall and steadily amidst the grand Vice-Principal.

Their deep black eyes coolly bored into her steel blue eyes as Darcel gained a small smile and inclined his head in acknowledgment.

But compared to him, Aniela decided to take it a step further in being casual. Her smile turned into a burst of dazzling sunshine as she began waving friendly to the Vice Principal, saying,

"Finally, we get to meet again! So? How was your 'closely monitoring' doing?" Opin, Hao Cao, Hao Bao, Jamas, Joyce, and Shia Xia all spiked up hearing the cheerful Aniela outrageous words.

Monitoring? As in the Vice Principal actually, cared about their progress?

That's simply a wild fantasy for them!

However, when they gauged the Vice Principal's reaction, and all they saw was a small smile, it already spoke volumes to them.

"Still so bright no matter what….but that discussion is for another time. For now, you two listen very carefully about the black dungeon labyrinth expedition. We only have a little week to finish preparing."

Now the top-ranking geniuses temporarily put their thoughts on hold about the duo and put all their focus on the Vice Principal. Equally, Darcel and Aniela were also hugely interested in this event.

Seeing it as no good time than ever, Darcel asked her, "So it's nearly time, huh. Just….what is this labyrinth? From where Aniela and I herald from, I don't think we ever heard of one."

Hearing Darcel says this was a slight bit odd for the other geniuses students. Surely they thought, wherever these two monstrous freaks come from, they would've also got taught about dungeon labyrinths.

Unless….unless these two really were all self-taught?!

And their unspoken unanimous questions were quite actually the truth for Darcel and Aniela. Though, for the Vice Principal, it was like she expected this question, spouting a knowing smile upon her face.

"Truthfully, not even I or our Heavenly King Principal knows how long this specific dungeon labyrinth has been around. But, what we know is that this labyrinth only opens up on specific dates. This is a tremendously dangerous place that no one can take lightly. And yet, at the same time, this labyrinth holds countless valuable rich resources and experience for any cultivator."

"Soo….of course, all sects or whatever are going to send their most talented there, right?" Aniela already easily guessed since with what she experienced so far, the older generation just loves the talented young.

"Indeed, that would be the case. Any decently powerful sect or organization sends their talented kids to the labyrinth to sharpen their prowess and cultivate their talent. And just luckily, you two manage to come in on an extraordinary time for the labyrinth. We had calculated that the labyrinth will be significantly weaker for this expedition than it's previous times when opening. Meaning we get to send a bit more students out, and you all might see a bit more from other kids in the city."

The top-ranked students perked up more about this than Darcel and Aniela. They didn't have profound experiences with the labyrinth, but it was just enough to know this….this was a huge deal!

"I don't think I've ever heard from my Elder Sister about the labyrinth being weakened when she tread there. Does this mean the selection process will be different?" The one who asked was Joyce, with apparent anticipation in her tone.

"Correct. We determined the labyrinth will be weak enough to allow more leniency. Opin, Bao, Jamas, Xia, Joyce, you five will be leaders that'll pick out five talented ones from your own ranks to lead and explore the level that corresponds to your realms. Any disagreement?"

"Eh?! That's like….twenty in total going to the expedition! This is far more than….wait. Did you say that we get to be a leader?! I have no complaints there!" Shai Xia went through several motions until realizing that she gets to directly boss around people at her level.

The other appointed leaders were also in a slight surprise at the sudden news. None of them could recall now about a selection process like this. But none of them will neither back down from experience like this!

"No disagreements, Vice-Principal!"

The others gave their verbal agreement, now feeling even more pumped about this event. Instead of the usual mix bag of students going, now they all can group up in familiarity prowess!

Darcel, Aniela, and Hao Cao were the only ones left with inquisitive expressions. Frankly, it sort of made sense to them for the others being leaders since they're the number one ranked in their levels.

But where does this leave them now? Taking it upon herself to ask, Hao Cao said, "Mnh, well, that's all fine and dandy that they have a set guide. So, where does that leave us three Vice Principal?"

"You kids….count yourself lucky since you three will be a special group. You'll see why once you get to know each other better. Any objections here?" Even if it was pretty obvious, Darcel and Aniela did have their suspicions confirmed.

Glancing over to the pretty Hao Cao, who also glanced over to the duo, flashing them a cute smile. It was safe to say there was something hiddenly unique about her.

They're unsure what makes her so unique to be put on their team, but Aniela was more curious to find out than Darcel. Smiling back at Hao Cao, Aniela said,

"Ah, this couldn't be a better surprise, perfect combination then! No objections here!" The Vice Principal went on to obverse Darcel's reaction, to which he only gave a slight shrug.

And Hao Cao only sweetly smiled while shaking her head. With all this cleared up, the Vice Principal recalled another important event happening sooner than the labyrinth.

"Before we continue on, I have to briefly mention the Asylum of Mysteries coming up in a couple of days." The Vice Principal started explaining and pointed her fingers at Darcel and Aniela.

"You two may not know, but this event is for cultivators of all kinds to closely study their Qi without any real dangers. Simply it all depends on your own talent, comprehension, and potential. Although, be wary of the little snakes at the Quicksilver Roc sect or Yodrine institution. If you're grouped together because of your Qi, they may try to deviously trick you."

"Oh? Those guys just simply never learn Vice-Principal. No matter what they try, they always end up on the losing side with us." Hao Bao threw out a confident statement while casually shrugging his shoulders.

The other students seemed to agree with his statement as they all held small smiles, thinking about their rivals sects.

Even Darcel and Aniela could somewhat agree with him, considering they had recently destroyed four Quicksilver Roc sect disciples.

"With an utmost attitude like that, I'm hoping for some good results then. Now for the rest of this meeting, I'll go over some pre strategy for the labyrinth and the valuable items you'll be taking with you."

….

For the next two days, Zakira Academy was in an uproaring excitement! This time, instead of two freakishly strong students, everyone was getting pumped up for the black dungeon labyrinth expedition.

Normally, the expedition would always get students excited since decently talented ones wanted to increase their strength for the selection process.

However, now, the whole process has reasonably changed! Every level of students are trying their best to squeeze out their potential, so their number one ranked leader would choose them.

Students were doing everything they can now to make it on the team, from taking on dangerously risky missions to training in high-intensity law rooms.

The labyrinth expedition was just that life-changing.

Although not everyone was in a high state of excitement for the same reasons. Currently, Darcel, Aniela, Hao Cao, and Shai Xia were all antsy for the Asylum of Mysteries!

Under Teacher Zala guidance, they and numerous other Zakira Academy students are making their way to the Asylum since it opened today. Though how they will get there is a bit surprising for Darcel and Aniela.

They didn't realize it before, but the whole of Necropolis City is actually relatively large. In fact, they read that the city is most likely up to several hundred miles or more long!

To counteract the arduous process of getting around this vast city is where Mages come into play.

Teacher Zala led their large group to the expansive Mages Teleportation center. Inside the place is where Darcel and Aniela could genuinely observe the unique way of Mages.

This place could be described in one word, mystical. Everything here was exotic in design, holding strange and unknown symbols that neither Darcel nor Aniela could read.

It was also incredibly expansive, being able to fit several thousands of people at the same time.

And despite the large size, it still manages to be orderly and neat.

From all around, the duo could see, there were numerous lines of people moving swiftly to go up to a counter with a person wearing magical robes behind it.

And even more mystical was the fact besides each counter, Mage was a fancy looking blue door that took either crowd of people or only one person.

"Phew….with all the bustling people coming in and out of this place, I didn't expect it to be so civil here," Aniela remarked as she and the others were in line for their own transportation.

"Fufufu~, you may not know it, Aniela, but the Mages here don't tolerate impatience or disrespect, no matter your status or realm." Hao Cao said to her with an intoxicating playful tone in her voice.

"Yep, and this way, we don't have to wait obnoxiously long times to go anywhere!" Shai Xia also added with her own bright, energetic energy.

Hearing the girls, Darcel smirked as, over the last two days, these two girls seemed to take a decent interest in them. They went out of their way to talk to them, and Darcel found they were enjoyable hangout with.

Hao Cao was more of a calm playfulness, while Shai Xia always seemed to have a sunny answer for any subject.

And thinking more of the last two days, Darcel honestly could admit fighting was better than regularly cultivating.

Building a perfect foundation for his Nascent Core was a slower process than what he could achieve in the Qi Formation Sea realm. But this Asylum of Mysteries….it almost like a golden opportunity for a quick level!

'Hopefully, I can also figure up what the hell is up with my Darkness….I don't think I'll be able to perfectly control it with how fervent she's been getting lately.' Darcel thought to himself, and he then heard Hao Cao speak again, saying,

"I've only been here a couple times before, but it indeed left me a bit speechless on my first time coming here."

"Leaving them just like this is an unacceptable option! I have to find out more about these guys in the future." While walking up to the counter, Aniela's growing interest in Mages only increased as she watched those mystical doors open up.

"Hmmm….I would agree. But! These Mages can also be as stuck up as normal cultivators! Like some of them are even more stuck up no matter their prowess." Even if Mages' power is all whimsical and mysterious, it doesn't change how their attitudes can grate on her nerves.

"More stuck up than us cultivators? That's a vast hurdle no ordinary person can cross." Darcel jested, and since they weren't paying attention, they had heard Teacher Zala suddenly say,

"If you're done with the comments, let's get a move on through the door." Darcel's group peered through the blue door beside the Mage counter.

Through the door was a lone blue robe Mage and behind him was a magically designed large blue cart. The cart was luxurious, not looking like anything Darcel nor Aniela had ever seen before.

It was almost like….futuristic in design.

The large Zakira Academy group walked through the door, and the Mage eyes immediately matched with Teacher Zala. Without a hint of emotion in his voice and a proud air surrounding him, he asked,

"The Asylum of Mysteries, I presume?"

"Indeed." Teacher Zala simply said and nodded to the Mage. Without another word, the Mage brought a beautiful blue magical staff and pointed it to the cart.

'Chi!'

With a brief flash of power, the cart opened up as the Mage told them, "Get in. And you should already know the return fees for wanting to come directly back here."

For every action of the Mage, Darcel did notice this high noble air of superiority about him. Even with Teacher Zala's power and beauty, the Mage put her on an even level without caring about status.

"I already have the fee. Alright, everyone, get on! This ride won't last long."

Darcel, Aniela, Hao Cao, and Shai Xia all shared a brief smile at each other as they got on to the cart. They all could just feel it; this Asylum of Mysteries will be thrilling!