Chapter 304

Chapter 304: Contemplation Temple

Though this year’s freshmen had just arrived at the opposite bank of Emanas, the second to fifth grades within the school had officially started classes, and today was their first day.

Lolan Hill stood in front of her dressing table, arranging her clothes. This morning was the opening ceremony for the Temple Academy, and she had also changed into the corresponding uniform. If the Fortress Academy mainly used red and green as its primary colors, then the Temple Academy primarily used black and white.

Lohil wore a dress that combined black and white today. The outfit consisted of two parts; the inner part was a regular fitted blouse paired with a knee-length skirt, predominantly black, with only the cuffs, neckline, and hem made of white fabric.

Externally, she wore a long white robe with a hood. The wide sleeves and the bottom of the robe almost touching the ground, concealed her figure quite thoroughly. The edges of the robe had intricate golden patterns, giving an overall solemn and dignified impression, much like the attire worn by ceremony hosts. In fact, most graduates from the Temple Academy often became clergy members.

After putting on her clothes, she temporarily did not pull up the hood. Her silver hair flowed over the gold-trimmed white robe. She simply tied her hair back with a hairband, securing the rest behind her head, before clipping on a butterfly hairpin. Only then did she leave.

On the way to the central square of the academy, one could see many new students wearing either white or black robes. They were students from the Angel Sequence and the Necromancer Sequence, respectively.

Unlike the Fortress Academy which was poetic and full of natural charm, or the High Tower Academy which was cold and perched on mountain peaks, or the Bridgehead Academy which was strict and militaristic, the Temple Academy had a more everyday and distant aura that was closer to ordinary life.

Since the west side of the Temple Academy bordered a small town with tens of thousands of inhabitants, one could frequently see the school employees entering and exiting the gates. Most of them were not Extraordinary Beings but ordinary people living here.

Occasionally, carriages would pass through the streets of the academy, loaded with grains and goods. The wheels of the carriages squeaked as they rolled over the stone-paved streets. These goods came from merchant ships from both east and west. They were unloaded at the Bridgehead Academy’s port and then some were transported to this nearby town to supply the daily needs of the residents.

Climbing to the highest point of the academy, the Starlight Cathedral, standing on the steps in front of the cathedral, one could easily overlook the entire academy.

A long high wall separated the inside of the academy from the town outside. From here, one could see smoke rising from the town, people bustling about, and various stalls and shops with vendors selling their wares. Buyers included students, travelers, and some minor nobles.

Before the entrance to the academy, there was a long queue of people. They were mostly students entering the school.

Ordinary people working inside were orderly passing through the inspection. The inspectors would verify the badge on their chest and briefly register the badge number.

Inside the high walls were students coming and going. They wore long black and white robes, and there weren’t many talking; most were quite quiet.

Lohil walked into the interior of the Starlight Cathedral. At this point, some students had already arrived early. They sat in groups on the pews, some whispering, while others seemed surprised to see familiar faces from previous encounters at the same academy.

The cathedral was very spacious. Even if the floor were full of people, it could only fill up one-tenth of the space. The high domes made it feel vast, and morning sunlight filtered through colored glass windows, casting mottled seven-color shadows on the ground and pews.

This was also Lohil’s first time entering the large cathedral inside Emanas. She curiously looked around, noting that the floor was made of fine blue-gray marble, the walls and internal stone pillars were a faint gold, and the dome was adorned with exquisite murals depicting scenes from the Chaos Disaster War. The murals included angels, demons, elves, dragons, knights, mages, skeletons, water monsters, and more. The enemies were twisted shadows, transforming into various strange forms to fight, with battlefields spread across different locations.

One of the murals depicted a vivid scene on a river painted in thick dark blue pigment, where a majestic straight bridge spanned both banks. At the lower left corner of the bridge was a crowd of bloodied figures seemingly wailing as they pushed chaotically towards one side of the bridge. At the upper right corner of the bridge stood closely packed knights holding lances and shields, wearing exquisite armor. The sky appeared shrouded by dark clouds, with only small beams of light filtering through. A golden-red-winged angel flew above the knights, holding a flaming longsword ready to strike down, as if shouting something.

On the watchtower at the bridgehead, elven archers with pointed ears drew their bows, gathering emerald light on their arrows. In the lower right part of the river, a huge octopus surfaced, with a half-human, half-fish songstress sitting atop its head, seemingly singing. On the upper left corner of the painting were a few ethereal black dots, and judging by their wings, they seemed to be dragons.

This mural should depict the famous ‘Bridge Defense Battle’ during the Chaos Disaster, Lolan Hill speculated. However, it was somewhat peculiar—the bridge depicted here was different from the current one. Below the bridge were not sparse stone pillars but dense vertical barriers, as if designed to isolate and filter the river. Only the central part was tall enough to lift, allowing boats to pass through.

Walking to her class’s designated area, Lolan Hill quietly sat down to wait. Due to her new identity, she didn’t know many people. Only a few classmates from her original classes, Class One or Two, recognized her and noticed her presence.

Greeting.

About half an hour passed, and the second-year freshmen gradually filled up the front seats, with those on the left wearing uniform white robes with gold edges and those on the right wearing black robes with silver edges. Out of the roughly 1,200 new students, about 300 were assigned to the Temple Academy—neither too many nor too few. Nearly 200 of them were part of the Angel Sequence, while the number of students in the Necromancer Sequence might not have reached 100 yet.

As the agreed time approached, several mentors from the Temple Academy entered one after another and took their seats in the empty spots at the back right.

First to appear was the chancellor, dressed in a tight-fitting white robe, wearing a high-crowned hat. She ascended the podium.

“Welcome everyone to the Temple of Contemplation.”

A round of applause erupted below. The chancellor appeared to be in her thirties, speaking at a moderate pace that was both comfortable and clear.

“I’m sure many of you have learned about the different styles and philosophies of the various academies when choosing which one to attend. While I won’t go into details about other academies, the style and philosophy of the Temple Academy is to pursue inner peace and tranquility, allowing everyone to accept this real world more openly—the world that is imperfect.”

“I won’t claim that all of you will become wealthy and successful after graduation, but at least on your life’s journey, you’ll have fewer regrets and more composure.”

“Life and death, these two eternal and absolutely equal aspects of the world, will unfold before you.”

“On our life’s journey, people often get entangled in their own emotions, leading to confusion and bewilderment. I believe each of you has experienced this to some extent.”

“When you’re hesitating and struggling, you can lift your head slightly and look around at the people and events around you, then consider the lives and experiences recorded in the cemeteries.”

“Many things aren’t new; they repeat themselves over and over in this world—birth, growth, marriage, choices, trials, achievements, aging, and death. When you broaden your perspective to encompass the arc of life, you’ll realize that many of your worries are insignificant, and your life is not just yours—it’s the result of the interactions and influences of countless lives in this world.”

“After gradually understanding the world, I believe you’ll have less unnecessary worry and anxiety, and instead, face things with more composure and calm effort.”

“Then, as you grow old and approach death, you can say without regret, ‘This is my experience, my choice, my life.'”

Thank you to Youying34, Reader20201012211120573, SkyBlue, LonelyDreamInCloud, LvXiaoXiong, JianWenXinShen, NaoNini, and the seven others who have supported me.

(End of Chapter)