Chapter 1878 — An Unpopular Major: Because Purple Hair Heard What Zhuang Niaodao Said, He Knew for Certain That the Man Was Someone Well Acquainted with the Hidden Clans; an Ordinary Person Could Never Have Known Such Fine Detail, nor Would Have Instantly Thought of the Hidden You Clan

"Your humble servant, Zhuang Niaodao of the Hidden Zhuang Clan..." Zhuang Niaodao clasped his fists in return as well. Though he was the eldest young master of the Hidden Zhuang Clan, his unremarkable talent meant the family held him in no great regard; they had not even let him take part in the Ice Palace's trial, sending his two younger brothers, Zhuang Niaoqiang and Zhuang Niaopao, in his place.

However, both his younger brothers were gifted in cultivation and had not the slightest interest in managing the Zhuang Clan's enterprises, so the seat of future clan head would inevitably fall to Zhuang Niaodao. Hence he was now a graduate student in the Department of Management at Donghai University of Engineering.

By rights, as young master and future head of the Zhuang Clan, he need not have called himself "your humble servant" before You Panhu, the second young master of the You Clan; putting on a little air would have been perfectly acceptable. But Zhuang Niaodao had his own calculations.

Once he succeeded to the headship of the Zhuang Clan, connections would matter more than anything else.

Though the Zhuang Clan was a Hidden Clan, it was not powerful; set beside the You Clan and the Yu Clan it paled into insignificance. What is more, the Zhuang Clan possessed no art of its own, training inner and outer schools alike in a jumbled mix, and its overall strength was poor indeed.

The You Clan, however, was another matter entirely. That a mere second young master of the You Clan should command two Profound-tier bodyguards — what magnificence! As for cultivating a good relationship with the You Clan's eldest young master, Zhuang Niaodao wouldn't even have dared dream of it.

It was precisely for these reasons that he had addressed himself as "your humble servant."

"Fire Wolf Gang — Li Biaohan." Li Biaohan clasped his fists in return too. Though only a Yellow-tier expert, he was the Fire Wolf Gang's eyes and ears around Donghai University Town, a minor boss of sorts; and so, with the Fire Wolf Gang's tiger-skin as his banner, he felt no need to fawn on the two You Clan experts.

The Fire Wolf Gang was nothing like the Zhuang Clan; it had no need to flatter any Hidden Clan.

Purple Hair and Yellow Hair's expressions shifted slightly. They had not expected the man before them to belong to the Fire Wolf Gang. For all the You Clan's power, it did not have the strength to contend with the Fire Wolf Gang — though of course, were it to bring its backer, the Profound Pill Sect, into play, the You Clan was not to be underestimated either.

Hearing that the two before him were the eldest young master of the Hidden Zhuang Clan and a man of the Fire Wolf Gang, You Panhu could no longer sit still. Smiling, he climbed down from the car.

"So it is Brother Li of the Fire Wolf Gang, and the eldest young master of the Hidden Zhuang Clan, Brother Zhuang!" You Panhu clasped his fists as well and said, "I have long heard of the Fire Wolf Gang's might — Brother Li is every inch the remarkable man! The three Zhuang brothers, known together as the Zhuang Clan's Blade, Gun and Cannon — Panhu has heard of you for ages, and today at last I see you in the flesh!"

"Ha ha! What happened earlier was all a misunderstanding. We're all brothers here — you must look after each other from now on!" Seeing You Panhu's gracious manner, Zhuang Niaodao was quite pleased. It looked as though this You Panhu was someone he could get along with in future.

"The Fire Wolf Gang does business with both the You Clan and the Profound Pill Sect — we're all one family. You're too modest, little brother You!" Pleased by You Panhu's deference, Li Biaohan returned the salute with clasped fists.

"Since we've run into each other, let me play host — you two big brothers name a hotel, and we drink till no one can stand!" Zhuang Niaodao wanted to build himself a network; and was You Panhu any different? If he wanted a greater say within the You Clan, he needed a force of his own.

As the saying goes, when immortals battle, it is the little folk who suffer. So when these men came face to face, every student who knew the reputations of Li Biaohan and Zhuang Niaodao gave them a wide berth; even the freshmen who had never heard of them were steered around the long way by the warnings of the upperclassmen.

And so not one word of what these men said reached anyone else. From a distance, the onlookers watched these figures, who looked on the verge of coming to blows, walk off instead chatting and laughing as easy as you please — a sight that left the far-flung crowd thoroughly baffled.

Wei Zhao took Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu to the Economics Department, went through the formalities, swiped his card to pay the tuition, and then escorted them both to their dormitory — only to be stopped at the gate by the matron in charge.

"Hey, you there, young man — halt! Can't you read what's written here?" The woman raised a hand, halting Wei Zhao's advance.

Wei Zhao looked up and, sure enough, saw a conspicuous sign posted at the entrance of the women's dormitory. It read: "Non-Females Prohibited."

"Uh..." Wei Zhao hadn't noticed it before; still, he had seen on the Donghai University of Engineering forum that male students were not allowed into the women's quarters, so he was not surprised.

Moreover, the phrase "Non-Females Prohibited" had a story behind it. The sign, so the tale went, used to read "Males Prohibited." One account of the change held that a young man had tried to get in, telling the matron at the gate that he was no man but a ladyboy. Another account had it that a girl had been keeping a pet in her room, whereupon the school altered the sign to "Non-Females Prohibited" — barring entry to every living thing that was not female.

Still, rumor had it that some girl once tried to slip in with a pet marked "female," hoping to muddy the waters...

Of course, these were nothing but rumors; at the time, Wei Zhao had told them to Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu as a joke.

"I'll leave you here, then. Call me if you need anything," Wei Zhao said to Gu Mengyao.

Since they weren't allowed in, Wei Zhao could certainly have slipped in by some other route, but there was no point to it.

"Okay — bye-bye, Brother Arrow!" Shen Yushu waved to Wei Zhao.

Gu Mengyao simply nodded, then took Shen Yushu by the hand and headed upstairs.

Having seen the two of them off, Wei Zhao set off toward the Biology Department.

The Biology Department was like every other: before the main teaching building of the college, rows of tables and chairs had been set out in succession, each bearing the name of a major. At some majors the queue stretched into a long snake; at others there were only a dozen or two students.

When Wei Zhao at last found the table for his own major — Pharmacy — he discovered to his dismay that not a single freshman had signed up at it.

Could this major really be that unpopular?

Wei Zhao looked at the student-union receptionist, who was so idle in his chair that he could practically die of boredom, and shook his head in helpless resignation.

"Excuse me — is this the check-in desk for the Pharmacy major?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Ah! Finally, a person!" At Wei Zhao's question the young man shot to his feet in excitement. "Junior, are you here to check in for the Pharmacy major?"

"..." Wei Zhao regarded the fellow before him, momentarily lost for words. He himself had come to register — what was the man so worked up about? And "finally, a person"? Were the people nearby not people? Or had his eyes already reached the legendary state of vacancy, incapable of making out anything at all beyond three meters?

"Say something — are you or aren't you?" The young man stared at Wei Zhao, tense and anxious, and demanded loudly.

"That's right... I am... but..." Before Wei Zhao could finish, the admission notice in his hand was snatched away by the fellow in front of him.