The principal's words were filled with gravity and deep meaning. He was pleased that the empire could cultivate more outstanding warriors and also worried about the dangers that these vibrant young people would soon face. He sincerely hoped that these future warriors could live bravely.
After the speech, there was a "medal presentation" ceremony.
This was not an actual medal but a "wearable" smart badge that all students of the Noah Empire Academy had to have.
The students went up one by one, and the academy's teachers used a device to "present" the badges on the back of each person's right hand.
Ai Bi's seat was relatively close to the front, and she carefully observed that what was called a medal presentation was actually more like implanting some high-tech product on the back of the hand.
"This is the Noah Academy badge, a symbol of your identity as a Noah student. Not only that, but it can also monitor your physical condition in real-time, and the data will be synchronized with your communicator for you to check at any time. It also has a very important function, which is to detect your power level and display your ranking within the academy."
Mai'er noticed Ai Bi's focused observation and guessed that she might be curious, so she explained it to her carefully.
"Ranking?"
"That's right. You can check the cultural assessment scores and combat strength levels of everyone in the academy on your communicator anytime. But in reality, besides the school's official assessments and these types of ability tests, the ranking that everyone pays most attention to is the one generated by the 'combat training' mode, which is also the ranking displayed on the academy badge."
From Mai'er's words, it seemed that only this "combat training" ranking was the real authoritative ranking in everyone's minds.
Combat... was clearly a test and ranking of actual combat ability.
She couldn't help but ponder her own combat ability and hoped she wouldn't be the last.
Soon, it was Ai Bi's turn to go on stage.
The well-groomed female teacher who "awarded" Ai Bi a badge guided her to sit down in the chair in front of her and then had Ai Bi extend her right hand. The teacher held a small seal-like device and pressed it firmly on the back of Ai Bi's right hand.
Ai Bi felt a slight sting but soon the sensation disappeared.
Ai Bi bowed to the female teacher and then followed the others off the stage to her seat. She then looked at the badge on the back of her hand.
What was called a badge was actually more like a tattoo.
It was about the size of three coins wide, diamond-shaped, with intricate patterns inside, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.
In the center of the badge was a white crystal that shimmered faintly.
It was this crystal that made the badge stand out and signify its official status as a Noah Empire Academy badge.
Below the crystal was a small number "0."
Was this what Mai'er meant by ranking? What did "0" mean? Did it mean they had no ranking yet?
Ai Bi shared her confusion with Mai'er and also noticed that Mai'er's badge also displayed the number "0."
"That's right. We haven't participated in any training matches yet, so we currently have no ranking. Therefore, everyone's ranking is '0'." There was only the opening ceremony that morning, and it ended unexpectedly quickly. It was only nine o'clock in the morning, and the students now had free time.
Most freshmen chose to explore the campus to get familiar with the environment.
Ai Bi did not go with Mai'er; she preferred to explore alone and take the opportunity to have a good chat with that unreliable system.
The academy was very safe, so she wasn't worried about anything happening to her.
Mai'er looked at Ai Bi for a long time, and seeing that she seemed determined not to take him along, he reluctantly nodded, "Alright. Then you be careful, and I'll see you this afternoon."
Ai Bi left the hall and opened the campus map with her communicator.
She currently had two places she wanted to visit: the library and the training ground.
She checked the map for their locations and decided to take a detour to check out the training ground first before going to the library.
The training ground was far away and covered a vast area with various functional training fields to meet the practice needs of different types of power users.
The training ground was like an independent campus, while the other teaching buildings and accommodation areas were located in another campus.
It took Ai Bi half an hour to get there.
In front of her was a huge black building as large as several football fields, shining with a metallic luster. She had planned to just take a quick look before leaving, but her mind changed in an instant.
Such a cool place must have an incredible world inside!
Ai Bi stood at the closed black gate. On the side of the gate was a small electronic screen that prompted scanning of the personal badge to enter.
The gate slowly opened, and Ai Bi walked in curiously.
The center of the crowd was a spacious arena where a man and a woman were facing off as if in a contest.
"Ha, Charles, you've finally had a taste of misery, haven't you?"
"Letting us believe you? You deserve it! You've kicked the wrong person this time!"
"Louise, beautiful lady, go for it! Beat that coward!"
The atmosphere in the training ground was boiling, with people cheering and jeering.