Chapter 13 - 13 Dean Lu Mingrong

The Dean of Baiyan Academy’s quiet residence was rarely disturbed by visitors.

Yet now, it was interrupted by the urgent sound of knocking.

“Teacher Zhou Xu, what has happened? If you don’t give me a good reason today, don’t think about leaving.”

After a moment, Dean Lu Mingrong dressed himself and stepped out of the water, angrily pushing the door open and walking out.

As a cultivator at the pinnacle of seventh rank in the Source Pool, he was among the top figures in the entire Baiyan City, and now he wore a look of annoyance, his powerful aura oppressive, making speech somewhat difficult for those around him.

“Reporting to the Dean, we were conducting the Source Pool evaluation today…” Teacher Zhou Xu clenched his teeth, but ultimately he spoke up.

Dean Lu Mingrong’s eyes narrowed, “I remember saying before that we are not accepting students this year; such trivial matters need not be reported…”

Teacher Zhou Xu, “I, I know, but perhaps the Dean might change his mind after hearing the result of this evaluation.”

Lu Mingrong, “What, has a talent emerged who can forge 16 strands of Yuan Power? Fifth-grade talents are rare, but they’re not worth me changing my mind.”

Teacher Zhou Xu hesitated, then tentatively asked, “What about… over a hundred strands?”

“???”

Lu Mingrong.

Teacher Zhou Xu, “Up until now, the Nine Dragons Pillar is showing more than a hundred strands, and there’s no sign of it stopping… Ah, Dean, where, where are you going?”

Before he had finished speaking, Dean Lu Mingrong had already taken off at a great pace, swiftly charging out.

Lu Mingrong waved his hand, “To the training ground!”

Teacher Zhou Xu stood there dumbfounded, “Dean, didn’t you say you weren’t accepting students this year?”

“I’m just going to have a look, I didn’t say I wanted to take anyone in, did I? Besides, if the person truly wishes to take me as their master, it wouldn’t be good to refuse as a teacher, would it…”

Moving rapidly, Dean Lu Mingrong had already vanished from sight.

Seventh rank, sixth rank, even fifth rank, all could be disregarded… but this is nearly at grade-2 already, to dismiss such a one… am I a fool!

He moved swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, he had arrived at the stands.

“Dean!”

Seeing him arrive, Wu Yunzhou and the others quickly got up and greeted him with cupped fists.

“Mhm!”

Lu Mingrong casually waved his hand, interrupting everyone’s courtesy, “How is it now?”

Wu Yunzhou, “Already… forged 205 strands, and it’s still increasing!”

Lu Mingrong trembled slightly, “Over 200 strands? You mean… this talent could possibly be a first-grade talent?”

Wu Yunzhou, Ran Qingxu, Wu Liuyun, and the others all nodded repeatedly.

These people had initially been astonished at each turn, but now they had grown numb!

One strand, two strands, four strands, eight strands, all the way to over 200 strands now… breaking past the limits of human understanding and imagination time after time, leaving them unsure of what to say anymore.

“What’s the name? Mo Yanxue, Yu Xiaoyu, or Liu Mingyue?”

On receiving confirmation, Lu Mingrong held his breath, unable to help asking.

He had heard of these talented youngsters as the Dean, so if someone truly stood out, they would have to be selected from amongst them.

Wu Yunzhou hesitated, “None of them, it’s a… spectator from the crowd!”

“Hm? A spectator?”

Lu Mingrong was stunned.

Such obscure text.

As he wondered, he saw the Vice Dean Wu Yunzhou pointing ahead, “Dean, you should see for yourself!”

Paying no heed to further questions, Dean Lu Mingrong turned his head to look towards the nine stone pillars in front, and indeed, he saw atop one of the stone pillars a sequence of characters emerging.

Name: Unrecorded.

Forged: Two hundred and seventeen strands.

“`

In just a few breaths, another 12 paths were forged…

“Unrecorded…”

Dean Lu Mingrong finally understood why Wu Yunzhou had said that. Unrecorded meant not in the arena but below it… What else could it be if not a “spectator outside the arena”?

Exactly!

Looking at the other stone pillars, so far, not a single name had appeared…

In other words, the many “geniuses” they had selected inside the arena hadn’t managed to forge a single path of Heavenly Mandate Vitality, while someone they hadn’t chosen outside the arena had already forged 217 paths…

The gap was too wide…n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

This was no longer a problem of poor eyesight but complete blindness.

It was like a singing contest where the top talents of the country couldn’t outperform a foreigner, and then a janitor who happens to be a security guard from outside the venue casually belts out a tune, crushing everyone by a hundred miles…

Even as the dean, Lu Mingrong felt a profound sense of powerlessness. Taking a deep breath to suppress the shock, he couldn’t help but ask, “Have we found out exactly who it is?”

“No, there are too many people and it’s too chaotic. Everyone is absorbing, and rushing over now would likely cause a disturbance. I’m afraid it would interrupt the absorption and lead to unnecessary complications for this genius…”

Wu Yunzhou expressed his concerns.

“You’re thinking correctly!”

Dean Lu Mingrong nodded, “During the Source Pool evaluation, one must strike with all one’s might. A second effort diminishes it, and the third exhausts it completely. Once interrupted and causing the Source Pool to shrink, reaching the limit becomes nearly impossible…”

Absorbing Heavenly Mandate Vitality into the Source Pool is a forging process, and also one of personal growth. To interrupt it recklessly is all harm and no benefit.

This was also why so many teachers hadn’t discovered who this cultivator was until now.

Seeing the dean agree with his viewpoint, Wu Yunzhou breathed a sigh of relief and continued, “I figure that this genius has already absorbed more than two hundred paths of Yuan Power. Two hundred and fifty-six paths is grade-1. Even with high talent, there will be a limit. Once we observe who stops absorbing first, we will know who it is… It shouldn’t be too hard to find out!”

“Good, let’s do that!”

Dean Lu Mingrong nodded his approval and looked forward once more to the nine stone pillars.

The stone pillars are connected to the Destiny Plate to form a special formation. Countless paths of Heavenly Mandate Vitality continued to sprinkle down, creating ripples that fell upon the arena. The over three thousand students immersed in the ripples were unaware that the “spectator outside the arena” had already forged over two hundred paths, while they were still struggling for just one…

Looking outside the arena again.

Just like what The Second Elder had said before, the nine stone pillars held back the essence, allowing only a thin layer of Heavenly Mandate Vitality to trickle out, swaying in the air like gossamer.

“With just the leaked essence, being able to forge more than two hundred paths, this prodigy is indeed terrifying!”

After a moment of reflection, Lu Mingrong’s eyes brightened as he remembered something, “Since that’s the case, why not give him a helping hand! To make his foundation even more solid…”

“Help? How?”

Wu Yunzhou looked over, puzzled.

“Simple!”

Dean Lu Mingrong cracked a slight smile, “Since the stone pillars are locking the essence, we just need to crack an opening to let more Yuan Power flow out so that he can also absorb it faster and have even more stable strength.”

Wu Yunzhou agreed, “That’s true! Then I’ll leave it to the dean!”

“Hmm!”

Dean Lu Mingrong nodded, walked up to a pillar in a few strides, clenched his fist, and struck it hard.

Whoosh!

The whole pillar involuntarily shook, and the nine beams of light connected to the Life Token stirred in ripples. In an instant, the sealed white mist, as if finding an outlet, gushed outward ceaselessly, enveloping many cultivators outside the arena as well.

“Success…”

Dean Lu Mingrong nodded, and just as he turned to return to the stands, he saw Vice Dean Wu Yunzhou, Ran Qingxu, Wu Liuyun and others looking at the top of the stone pillar with eyes wide and trembling.

“What’s the matter?”

Seeing their reaction, Lu Mingrong couldn’t help but turn his head as well, his pupils shrinking and freezing in place.

At the top of the Nine Dragons Pillar, the number that had just been 217 gave a slight jump…

Two hundred and fifty-seven!