Chapter 15: Chapter 15 Too Low-Key [Thanks to alliance head Boundless Flowing Water]
The Destiny Plate shattered, and the nine Dragon Pillars, as if their task was complete, could no longer hold on. They “crash!” cracked open giant fissures that stretched ominously downwards, emitting a grating, brittle sound.
“Pff!” “Pff!” “Pff!”
Immediately following, the sounds of spitting blood were incessant, whether it was the participants on the stage undergoing the evaluation or the students below siphoning Yuan Power, at this moment, all of them turned pale, with fresh blood flowing from the corners of their mouths.
Backlash!
It was like participating in a tug-of-war where both sides were evenly matched, exerting all their strength, and suddenly the other side let go… Not being seriously injured was already a stroke of luck.
“What happened?”
“Why did the Destiny Plate explode?”
“It seems like the nine Dragon Pillars have also broken…”
The people who had been cultivating with their eyes closed opened them to observe their surroundings, all looking confused.
They were merely capturing Heavenly Mandate Vitality and refining the Source Pool; how did it come to be that upon opening their eyes, their home was gone…
Like going to a banquet where the dishes haven’t been served yet, and the kitchen exploded!
This had never been heard of before!
“How much Heavenly Mandate Vitality did you manage to forge?”
After the shock, someone asked their friend nearby.
“Me? I didn’t succeed in even one, the Destiny Plate is gone, isn’t it?”
“Same here, I was tussling with the Yuan Power when I got hit by the backlash!”
“There was too little time, and although this Heavenly Mandate Vitality isn’t as domineering as the Origin qi, to forge even one without a quarter of an hour is very difficult…”
Debate was everywhere.
Hearing these conversations, Dean Lu Mingrong couldn’t hold back anymore and hurried to the front of the stage, looking around: “Among you… who managed to forge a thread of Heavenly Mandate Vitality?”
The whole stage immediately fell silent, not even the cawing of crows could be heard.
Forging one… was so tough!
Apart from the truly exceptional talents, who dared to claim such an accomplishment easily?
All of them simultaneously bowed their heads in shame.
“Mo Yanxue, what about you?”
With a twitch of his mouth, Lu Mingrong looked towards the pure and beautiful girl not far away.
As the young miss of the Mo Family with great talent, even though he did not concern himself with worldly affairs, he had still heard of her.
“I… I was about to forge one when a powerful force surged over… and that thread just, just left!”
Embarrassed, Mo Yanxue explained.
“Yes, yes, yes, that’s exactly what happened to me!”
Yu Xiaoyu jumped up, the bell on her body jingling, puffing her cheeks in anger.
A piece of braised pork she had long wanted to eat, smelling its aroma as it was about to reach her mouth, snatched away by someone directly, the more she thought about it, the more depressed she became.
“You guys too?”
The School Head then turned to several other highly acclaimed prodigies, all of whom gave the same answer.
“Hiss…”
Lu Mingrong and Wu Yunzhou simultaneously took a cold breath, turned their heads in unison, and looked to the crowd beneath the stage.
So many talents gathered together, none successful, and that unrecorded genius absorbed over ten thousand threads in one go…
The disparity was a bit large!
The key point was that not only was the absorption speed astonishingly fast, but he even managed to snatch away what others were forging and swallowed it… That was just defying the heavens!
Could it be… this was the terrifying aspect of a Holy-grade Talent?
“Actually, it’s a good thing they didn’t manage to absorb it successfully because once the Yuan Power enters the Source Pool, it would solidify their strength, giving them a burst of energy, only to fade on the second attempt, and be exhausted by the third. If the Heavenly Mandate Vitality stopped partway through, it would have an even greater impact!”
Ran Qingxu said.
School Head Lu nodded.
This was a blessing in disguise.
“Among you, who has absorbed the Heavenly Mandate Vitality into the Source Pool and successfully forged it? Even just one strand!”
School Head Lu looked down at the audience, staring intently at everyone, trying to find the hidden talent from their expressions, but found that everyone shook their heads, all with a look of confusion in their eyes.
“This is good news. Just admit it, and I will immediately take you as my direct disciple and offer you the best training resources of the entire Baiyan Academy!”
Fearing that the person might be scared, School Head Lu waved his hand magnanimously, promising openly.
“To be taken as a direct disciple by the dean? That’s a great honor, equivalent to having the biggest backer in Baiyan City all at once!”
“Backer is a small matter, with enough resources, one’s practice will certainly advance by leaps and bounds in the future…”
“Yeah, that person is so lucky!”
A buzz went through the crowd, with everyone hearing the news becoming visibly excited.
Everyone wanted to be the lucky one who had forged Yuan Power, but alas… no one had truly succeeded!
“The dean hasn’t taken any students in over ten years. When my father approached him, hoping he would take me as his disciple, he refused…”
Yu Feng’s eyes were full of envy: “I really don’t know who it is that could have such a good opportunity.”
“To absorb the Heavenly Mandate Vitality into the Source Pool and successfully forge it, indeed, that’s admirable… If only it were me!”
Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but express his genuine admiration, filled with envy.
He didn’t receive a cultivation method and didn’t know how to practice. He could only rely on the Library of Heaven’s Path to absorb a tiny bit of Heavenly Mandate Vitality and enlighten a few battered books. Compared to those who could truly practice, he still had a long way to go.
If he could be like that person, successfully practice and be taken as a direct disciple by the dean, he could easily shake off his coachman status and soar to new heights without having to look at anyone else’s face.
Watching the regret of everyone around him, School Head Lu, Wu Yunzhou, and the others didn’t know what to do.
Logically speaking, with such a generous promise, any student would be tempted and envious, yet no one stepped forward to claim it!
The problem was… everyone’s faces were filled with confusion, and it didn’t seem like they were pretending…
“Among you, really no one has forged Yuan Power? Not even one strand?”
Unwilling to give up, School Head Lu asked again, only to be met with another bout of silence.
“School Head Lu, what is going on here? Why did the Nine Dragons Pillar and Destiny Plate shatter, and the Source Pool evaluation stopped?”
Just then, Liu Mingyue called out.
“Yeah, dean, what is happening?”
“Why did this mishap occur, does it mean we won’t be able to take the test in the future…”
They had all closed their eyes earlier, concentrating on forging Yuan Power, completely unaware of what had happened outside, let alone the emergence of an “Unrecorded” incident causing such a stir.
“It’s… The Destiny Plate malfunctioned due to aging. Don’t worry, everyone. We will hold another evaluation tomorrow to make it up to you all,” explained School Head Lu after a moment of thought.
Honestly, whether the scene earlier was Nine Dragons Summoning Heavenly Fate, or whether there were geniuses with Saint-tier talent in the crowd, were all just his speculations. Without identifying the person, he couldn’t fully confirm it.
“Yes!”
Hearing that there would be compensation, everyone was relieved.
Although they didn’t succeed this time, they gained experience and were determined to reach for higher tiers next time.
Even Zhang Xuan was excited by the prospect.
He had thought it was his only chance to freeload, but if there was another opportunity tomorrow, it would be perfect for the library to absorb even more vitality to increase its foundations. Additionally, finding a cultivation method today meant that by tomorrow, he would know whether an outsider like himself could open his Source Pool.
If by chance… his talent was decent and he were taken as a direct disciple by the dean, the path ahead would be much easier.
In an instant, Zhang Xuan was filled with anticipation.
…
Seeing the excited expressions of the crowd, all of them without exception, Wu Yunzhou couldn’t help but whisper, “Dean, it seems this genius prefers to keep a low profile and is not planning to admit it…”
“Indeed!”
Dean Lu Mingrong was filled with emotion: “Really too low-key!”