After the young teaching assistant left contentedly holding the Merlin Gold Medal, the relaxed atmosphere between the three legendary wizards in the office suddenly disappeared. Colors of different hues spread all around, washing over the empty office like a tide. The three legendary wizards seemed to be standing there, but their figures rose infinitely high, as if they had entered another unknown dimension.

Strange magical fluctuations clearly echoed around the not-so-large teaching building, but the Protect Legal Formation of the First University stubbornly closed its ’eyes’ and ’ears,’ pretending everything was normal in the school.

"Some big figures in the Alliance are very uneasy about the sudden establishment of a new academy at the First University." Shi Hui’s somewhat bland voice vibrated in that unknown dimension: "They feel the school has overstepped."

"How does starting a new academy constitute overstepping?" Old Yao, who had just entered the realm of legend, still did not fully understand the twists and turns in this matter.

"The First University is the highest institution in the Wizard World, enrolling the best wizard seeds in the Alliance... they’ve already taken the plumpest cut from the plate." Shi Hui made a somewhat inappropriate analogy.

"But establishing the Edge Academy is like, after taking that plump piece, using a spoon to scrape clean even the crumbs on the plate." Old Yao immediately grasped the subtlety of the metaphor, clenched his pipe, thoughtfully adding, "All the good students taken, all the poor students taken too... Do they think the First University will monopolize the future of the wizard world?"

"Fools trouble themselves over nothing." The witch sneered.

At this point, the elder Ruoyu, who had been silently holding his wand, finally spoke, concisely questioning: "What do they have in mind?"

"Exchange."

The witch summed it up in one word, then carefully explained: "Since the school is trying to expand its domain, other organizations in the Alliance also want to stretch their legs. The First University can recruit wizards on the fringes from the entire Alliance, and the Alliance recognizes and undertakes part of the teaching cost... Correspondingly, the first dean of the Edge Academy should be appointed from outside the First University."

She enunciated the words ’first’ and ’appointed’ very clearly.

Elder Ruoyu furrowed his brow.

Old Yao showed a hint of realization on his face, sneered, with a tone of mockery: "Is this someone eyeing that legendary seed born out of the fringe group? That little girl worked hard to earn her property, and they want it just by saying the word? That’s not how these things work! If legends could be gracious, they wouldn’t be legends."

"Who did they recommend?" Elder Ruoyu paused his magic wand again and asked.

"Danhag Chief Justice Sam Marshall or Trident Bureau Chief Robert Nud, Upper House Member Gongsun Bing or Su Shijun, Gene Black O’Brien of the O’Brien family, and Great Alchemist Jiang Qianli." Shi Hui quickly listed a series of names.

Upon hearing some of the names, Old Yao, who had been holding a teasing attitude, furrowed his brows tightly like Elder Ruoyu.

After a moment, he smacked the pipe in his mouth, nodded, then shook his head, commenting: "What a... suggestion of both conflict and cooperation."

Excluding some of the candidates who could never be accepted by the school and were included just to make up the numbers, among the remaining candidates, Robert Nud was Shi Hui’s student, Su Shijun was Old Yao’s student, and Jiang Qianli had close relations with the First University due to his background in the Zhong Mountain Clan—simply put, they could be seen as both school personnel and Alliance personnel.

From the Alliance’s perspective, this was probably their biggest compromise. But from the school’s standpoint, this level of compromise was no less than diluting the school internally.

The three legends remained silent, each deducing various possibilities, their gazes traversing countless dimensions, contemplating the weight of different choices in an infinite future.

For a long time.

Only then did elder Ruoyu pause the magic wand again: "Go back and tell them, Edge Academy is for the people on the edge. If the Upper House Members of the Moon Council are considered people on the edge, how many wizards in this world dare say they belong to the mainstream?"

"Perhaps in their view, all wizards of the Moon Council belong to the fringe group of the Alliance." Shi Hui did not conceal the mocking tone in her voice.

Back when she was the Vice President of the First University, she often argued with Elder Ruoyu over the treatment of special wizard groups like the Moon Council.

Of course, she wasn’t here today to argue with this stubborn old man.

The witch changed the subject and mentioned another matter: "I came today with another issue. Trident’s Beta Town office reported a strange message saying a mysterious Great Demon appeared in the Silent Forest. Several Horse-Man Tribes and Ogre Tribes have been victimized. Is that true?"

Her gaze hovered over the faces of the other two legends.

However, elder Ruoyu had always kept himself enclosed, with no expression, the wrinkles on his face as stable as the Mariana Trench, while Professor Yao smoked heavily, hiding his face with the dense smoke, leaving only two shiny black eyes looming in the mist, as if his gaze were twinkling.

So, regardless of how the witch stared, she couldn’t discern any clues.

Seeing no one spoke, she raised her eyebrows: "It’s been less than a year since I left the school, and the management has already become chaotic to this extent? Or is there someone so bold, finding the school’s experimental conditions inadequate, wanting to stay in the Land of Desolation?"

Clearly, she had some suspicions about that so-called ’Great Demon’ in the Silent Forest but wasn’t sure. Mentioning it now was merely to probe.

Elder Ruoyu still didn’t utter a word.

Professor Yao couldn’t sit by idly, took the pipe from his mouth, and awkwardly laughed twice: "Not to that extent, not at all... The Silent Forest is so big, magical creature tribes are born and disappear every month, just one or two Horse-Man tribes having trouble doesn’t indicate a problem..."

"So, indeed, something happened, right."

Shi Hui took a deep breath, lowered her gaze, warning word by word: "The principal is absent, the school is like a fruit hanging on a branch; everyone wants to reach out and touch it... At this time, the fruit had best remain still, otherwise, without needing others to pick it, it will drop into the mud from the branch by itself. Opposing demons is the biggest consensus in the Mage Alliance. Don’t give others excuses to interfere with school affairs, even if those affairs are in the Silent Forest. If tomorrow Danhag or Alliance’s special team enters Buji Island, then the day after a circuit court or Trident branch appears in your school, it wouldn’t be surprising at all."