Chapter Nineteenth: The Twelve Palaces

  "Society?"

  Hú Sī Míng's heart skipped a beat as he finally understood the true intention of ā Wén Xué and why he was being so friendly. It turned out that he had taken notice of his own talent and wanted to recruit him into his own club before anyone else found out.

  Compared to ordinary students, talented students are extremely rare and grow up to be stronger. Moreover, his performance in the entrance exam was not bad, which largely prompted Ah Wen to make a decision. With a little training, as long as they can grow up, their club will make a big profit. Even if Hu Si Ming's final performance is average, they won't lose anything, it's simply a lucrative business!

  And whether those innate intelligences can be called "capital" is also worth questioning.

  This abacus calculation is really good!

  Hu Si Ming has regained his composure, so Ah Wen Xue Long no longer beats around the bush and directly invites him: "The Kuai Jian Society I'm in may not be one of the Twelve Palaces, but it's also a large-scale organization founded by three senior students that can accommodate fifty people. There are at least twenty junior students inside. Overall strength is also quite good in the college. How about it? Want to consider joining?"

  It's probably because he was afraid that his persuasive power wasn't enough, so Awen thought for a moment and added: "Normally, our club doesn't easily recruit new students. It's mainly because you've performed well and are a talented student that the seniors will make an exception to accept you. With our club as your backing, even if you're just a freshman, basically no one will dare bully you."

  Kuo Jian Society? Twelve Palaces?

  Hu Si Ming repeated Ah Wen's words in his mind and didn't give an immediate answer, instead taking the opportunity to ask: "What are the Twelve Palaces?"

  When introducing his club, Ah Wen had some concerns. Seeing Hu Si Ming ask about it, he sighed in his heart but still told the truth: "The Twelve Palaces Club, refers to the strongest power organization in the college. They are named after the twelve palaces of the Yellow Way, each one was founded by a senior student and has extraordinary strength. Even the Student Union has many people from the Twelve Palaces."

  "Why did it get such a name?" Hu Siming was somewhat curious.

  The origin of the twelve palaces dates back to when the Tianhui and Ye Mei campuses split from the old campus. At that time, a senior sister from Ye Mei Campus first created a club called "Virgo". The seniors in our campus had mixed feelings about her, so they countered by establishing a club called "Bachelor's Palace". Later, probably because the name didn't sound good, the seniors changed the club's name back, and thus the current "Sagittarius" club was formed.

  "This..."

  A Wen's long-winded and melodramatic words left Hu Si in a state of utter astonishment.

  Is this really the origin of the twelve palaces? And yet, this matter also involves the two major campuses of Tianhui and Yeye.

  It turns out that Hu Shiming had previously speculated about the existence of a Nightmares campus. Unexpectedly, it was confirmed in Ah Wen's long place. Moreover, at first, the two campuses were integrated, which was somewhat beyond his expectation. I wonder what reason led to the independence of the two campuses?

  At this time, Ah Wen's father spoke again, and Hu Si Ming hastily threw away those messy thoughts and listened attentively.

  "That's right! This is the origin of the Twelve Palaces!"

  As he mentioned this unverifiable past, Ah Wen's expression changed and he smiled: "As time passed, the Archery Club and the Virgo Club quickly developed into one of the strongest clubs in their respective school districts. Their friends in each school district successively established Gemini and Aquarius. Thus, rumors spread that the Twelve Palaces had become a symbol of strength and scale. To this day, only the strongest club recognized by all forces in the two major school districts has the qualifications to be named after the Twelve Palaces."

  "What if it's an incompetent organization that randomly took up a name and occupied it?"

  "As one of the Twelve Palaces, how can we be on par with an unknown organization? That's a loss of face! If there are any ignorant students who dare to misuse it, the Twelve Palace Association will join forces to suppress them until the misusing organization disbands. As of this academic year, our school district has five palaces that qualify to use the name of the Twelve Palaces. On the side of Nightmares, there are currently only four palaces. In other words, the two schools have a total of nine top-level palace organizations, with three positions still vacant!"

  "So, just how strong is the power of the Twelve Palaces? I heard you say earlier that the Kuo Jian Society can accommodate fifty members and is a war-troop level organization. What level are the Twelve Palaces at?"

  The question made Awen hesitate for a moment, probably thinking that the previous ones had already been said, and this one didn't matter anymore. He replied: "Almost all of the twelve palaces are at the level of war alliances and can accommodate two hundred members."

  "Only two hundred people?"

  Huxi Ming slapped his mouth, subconsciously feeling a bit less. The total number of students in the college should be at least tens of millions, right? As the top of so many students, the main members of the Twelve Palaces are only two hundred people.

  "Two hundred people is still too few?"

  A Wen's eyes widened, and he said with a bit of amusement: "You think they're all ordinary people who can be mobilized in troops of several thousand or tens of thousands? I'll tell you, to become a member of the Twelve Palaces, almost all of them are senior students from top universities. One person's strength is enough to match dozens of mine, and their temper is often even more unruly than their strength, making them difficult to manage. Besides, each of the Twelve Palaces has its own factions, used to recruit and cultivate peripheral reserve members."

  "This is so fierce!"

  What Ah Wen said shocked Hu Si Ming a bit.

  "What do you think?" Ah Wen glanced at Hu Si Ming and said with a hint of sarcasm, "To be honest, the academy is a place where dragons and tigers hide. Even if we only consider the twelve palaces, it only includes a small portion of the top talents. Moreover, every year there will be new students who are exceptionally talented. You think you're impressive just because you managed to get into the assistant teacher position? But if you look at the entire academy, the number of new students with real ability and luck far exceeds your imagination. Let's not mention others, just in my freshman year alone, over a hundred new students received the hidden reward of the wine festival gift!"

  "So many!"

  Hu Si Ming didn't doubt Ah Wen's words, there was no need to deceive himself in such a small matter. However, the slight complacency that had arisen from his excellent performance in the entrance exam was completely dispelled by this astonishing number. In just one year of entrance exams, there were so many outstanding freshmen, and if you pushed it forward, who knows how many more exceptional people there would be.

  Moreover, the fact that he performed so well in the entrance exam is 90% due to his understanding of Dota from the real world. Other freshmen may not necessarily lack talented people, but they just didn't understand it. Even if they start a bit slower, they may still be able to catch up quickly later on.

  In the face of such fierce competition, I really have nothing to be proud of.

  "That's all I care about!"

  A-Wen nodded and warned, "Every year there will be new students who are satisfied with their initial performance, then become complacent and eventually get left behind by others before the end of the first semester. You have talent, which is great, but you need to work even harder - of course, a good club can provide you with a better growth environment. So, my invitation, I hope you will consider it carefully. As long as you are willing to join, I can recommend you to the seniors and strive for direct formal membership privileges."

  So it's back to joining clubs again...

  Hú Sī Míng thought for a moment and asked: "If I join the club, what do I need to do for the club? And what can I get from the club?"

  When Hu Shiming asked a substantial question, Ah Wen's elder knew that the decisive moment had arrived.

  After a moment of deliberation, he replied in detail: "After joining the club, when you are threatened by other seniors, the club can intervene on your behalf depending on the situation. You can also browse the shared intelligence within the club for free. Additionally, the club regularly organizes activities where seniors will take you to hunt in restricted areas outside the academy - this is a great benefit that many clubs don't have!"

  "As for the obligations of being a member of the organization..."

  "That is, when the club needs you, fight for the club!"