Three days after their return, life at the Academy settled back into its rhythm.
Classes resumed. Tang Xiaoli blew up another pill furnace. General Fluffbottom escaped twice and was found both times sitting on Master Jiang's head during combat class. The one eyed instructor didn't seem to mind.
But things had shifted.
Before the banquet, Zhao Lingxi had been respected but isolated. The girl with the shattered roots who had somehow clawed her way to seventh place. Impressive, but strange. An outsider.
Now she was something else entirely.
The story of her standing up to General Zhao had spread through the Academy like fire through dry grass. Students who had avoided her before now nodded when she passed. Some even bowed. A group of younger girls from minor noble families had started sitting near her during lectures, whispering excitedly among themselves.
"She's becoming popular," Tang Xiaoli observed during lunch. "I give it one more week before someone starts a fan club."
