Even if none of their parents stated it out loud after they received the letter from the institute, the moment the kids woke up and saw their parents wearing their ancestral robes usually worn in a ceremony, their souls screamed shrilly in fright and pure agony.

"Ah, honey~ He woke up!"

Lu Piao's mother smiled and called for her husband as the blue-haired kid felt like crying.

'Teacher... hurry up and kick my dad's ass!'

A similar event occurred in the houses of every student of the apprentice class. Well, the students who feared the truths about their antics leaking out to their parents, at least.

"Do we really need to decorate all of this ourselves?"

Xiu inquired with frustration as she held one of the multi-colored strings in her hand and stuck it to the edges of the wall. She was already standing on a desk. Meanwhile, the three girls in Nik's apprenticeship— Ning'er, Ryu'er, and Ziyun, did the same on the lower portion of the walls.

"Of course, we do. The parents should feel welcomed in this classroom. And, aren't they helping us as well?"

Nik continued to decorate the board of the classroom with colored chalks. First, he wrote the name of the top three students of the classroom— Ye Ziyun, Shen Yue, and Ryu'er— before continuing to write other information about the kid's curriculum. 

"Say, Ryu'er," Nik spoke as he continued jotting down the details, "Why do you keep your eyes hidden?"

Nik inquired as the petite girl flinched while feeling the focus of gaze from the other girls falling on her.

"I-"

'I am too beautiful that you'll fall for me after gazing into my eyes!'

"- am used to it, teacher."

Ryu'er spoke softly as she continued the task of decorating the classroom. There were still two hours before the classes begin so that the girls would have enough time to get ready. Nik turned his head towards Ryu'er's direction and couldn't help but speak up, "You must have amazing senses, huh. Well, not that I am the one to complain. I managed to attract a diligent and hardworking apprentice," Nik continued to smile while gratified by his fortune. Meanwhile, Ryu'er lowered her head and continued to work. None could see the weird smile and a heavy blush on her face.

'As expected of my mate... making me feel all submissive by just a few words...

But it won't be easy!'

Ryu'er vowed internally as the group finally completed the decorations and went to their dorm rooms. Shen Xiu's dorm was on the same floor as Nik's, but quite a few rooms apart. So, she had to leave after they reached Nik's dorm reluctantly. As the door of Nik's dorm clicked open, the Lust Apostle found himself gazing at a pinkette with her cheeks inflated as she kept on munching on little choco bits that Nik left as snacks. Lanruo's face stiffened as she looked at Nik before resuming her munching. She was a squirrel, and she loved to inflate her mouth with sweets and then chew on them quickly.

Nik suppressed a chuckle—

"Pfft," and failed the task admirably before sitting in front of Lanruo and popping a choco candy for himself, too.

Lanruo did not mind Nik's amusement. It was his smile that ensnared her, and seeing more of that smile improved her days by a high margin.

"So, what are you going to wear today?"

Lanruo inquired with an elegant swipe of her choco-crumbs laced lips, "Today is a special day. Even your challenge has already shaken the entire city, and my father couldn't help but feel at ease now."

Every night, Lanruo would spend her time in her home before coming to train within the institute and spending the rest of her time with Nik in his dorm. Last night, the moment Nik's challenge to the other heads of the households within the city reached Huyan Xiong's ears, he couldn't help but feel a burden relieved from his shoulder and decided to indulge in his alcoholic tendencies in the first time since Lanruo could remember.

"A-and... my dad...

He wanted to hasten our engagement..."

Lanruo whispered while placing the packet down. Her pink pupils traced Nik's features as he shrugged, "Misfortune of a talented son-in-law. Everyone wants their daughters to get tapped by me!"

Blushing furiously, Lanruo knocked on Nik's shoulder, "Rogue..."

"That I am," Nik smiled and pulled Lanruo into his embrace while naturally petting her head with his palm laced with [Mirage Manipulation] to make her feel good, "Lanruo, wanna pick out my outfit?" Nik inquired as he pulled the packet of chocolate and popped a piece towards Lanruo only to divert the trajectory and bring the sweet treat to his mouth, leaving Lanruo's open mouth hanging.

"Hmph, now I don't want to!"

Lanruo huffed in Nik's arms as Nik suddenly turned her face towards him and sealed her lips with the choco candy intact within his mouth. Lanruo's eyes glazed as she felt the uncharacteristic sweetness from Nik's mouth and initiated the battle to retrieve the sweet treasure only to fail miserably as Nik gulped the choco candy while ravaging her mouth.

It was a defeat!

"Hehe~ Pumpkin, I don't think you can snatch it just yet. More training is in order!"

With a wolfish grin, Nik turned Lanruo's body and lowered his head as their erotic training continued.

***

While Nik washed reluctantly with Lanruo instantly refusing to Nik's invitation to join, the pinkette browsed through Nik's spatial ring to find out the outfit which will suit him for today's events.

It was only after a feeling slightly incompetent by Nik's more than compatible choices of clothes did Lanruo select an outfit.

Gods! Nik had more clothes than herself! Not only she lost in the tug of war to win the choco candy, but she also lost in binge shopping. Unacceptable!

'If I... skips the classes... yes, that way, I can get all the clothes I need in a single day," Lanruo decided and wrote a note and placed it above the outfit she picked before leaving hurriedly. She had no time to waste! Spend her entire wealth on clothes that are today's objective!

***

As the employees of the Holy Orchid Institute continued to process the site and decorate the place to host multiple VIPs that will grace them, a particular figure garbed in white with her eyes blindfolded and her index playing with her golden locks stood on the top of the Library. None could see her, but even with the blindfold, the woman with a luscious body oversaw the entire process. 

"Parent-Teacher conference. To admonish caretakers instead of blaming the kids, how unusual," Her plump lips parted as she slowly absorbed the spirit energy within the surroundings to repair her body, "If the same were true in the Draconic Ruins, maybe, our generation would have never waged such a meaningless war."

The woman sighed, her expression filled with emotions, "Then again, when did wars have any meanings attached to them..."

The woman then focused on a fat man within the top floor of the Library. He is the man dubbed as the Principal of the Institute, while in reality, he was merely a fortunate farmer that encountered her.

"Instead of that guy... maybe Nik should become the Principal. Both are debauched, but the latter still feels like working hard."

She exhaled and then looked towards the couple moving out from the Teacher's block. She was more than a few kilometers away, but the woman could easily focus on Nik and Shen Xiu.

"Should I just kill Shen Hong and end his partnership with the guild from the Nether Realm?"

She mused before recalling Nik's challenge. A smile formed on her lips, "Well, after he sets a record... maybe then."

The woman soon grew silent and spread her senses to the entirety of the Holy Orchid Institute. She did not need to eat, sleep, or drink. She always stood in this very spot and silently cultivated while also keeping the haven she found safe. The Institute was merely a guard to protect a treasure that could invoke greed even within herself, the Spiritual Goddesses of Light and Justice.