ALL NOVEL Chapter 32: The Fortunate Lad
On the first floor of the main academic building, in front of the admissions desk at the academic affairs office, a slightly balding middle-aged teacher handed a blue crystal ball to Ling Yi, his face calm and unhurried.
"Alright~," Ling Yi nodded obediently, extending his tender white hand to hover above the crystal ball.
Just like during the martial soul awakening ceremony when innate soul power was tested, a powerful suction emerged from within the crystal ball, absorbing Ling Yi’s soul power into it.
Instantly, the crystal ball lit up with a dazzling blue light, starting as a small starlight, spreading until a third of the entire crystal ball was emitting a faint blue glow. Only then did the light stop spreading.
"Hmm?"
The middle-aged teacher, witnessing the scene before him, was taken aback, his gaze shifting back and forth between the crystal ball and Ling Yi's face. He then turned to look at the martial soul certificate placed on the table. Simultaneously, he didn't forget to inject soul power into the crystal ball, pushing Ling Yi’s hand away.
Feeling the soul power that was absorbed into the crystal ball instantly return to his body, Ling Yi’s eyes lowered slightly as he looked at the now inert crystal ball, pondering silently: 'This crystal ball is evidently a soul guide device used for detecting soul power. But seeing how it can absorb and almost flawlessly return a soul master’s soul power in the blink of an eye, could it potentially serve as a soul power storage device? Similar to a blue bottle restoring soul power?'
"Ling Yi~" the middle-aged teacher interrupted Ling Yi's thoughts.
"Teacher~" Ling Yi focused on the matters at hand, responding respectfully.
Picking up the martial soul certificate on the table, the middle-aged teacher looked at it again, speaking with a hint of curiosity in his tone, "Your martial soul certificate states that when you were six last year, your innate soul power was only half a level. But now your soul power has reached more than level three. In just a year, such a rate of improvement, tsk tsk tsk..."
"Teacher~" Ling Yi responded without any nervousness or loss of composure to the other party's words. Instead, he smiled innocently and said, "I don't really know why this happened either. Uncle Yan Bin, who presided over my Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony, was also puzzled..."
"Yan Bin?" The middle-aged teacher, hearing this unfamiliar name, wasn't entirely convinced. Though he had never heard of him, since he was involved in the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony, it was likely that he was a lower-level deacon from the Martial Soul Hall.
Ling Yi's next words confirmed his assumption.
"Uh-huh~" Ling Yi scratched his head and introduced in a naive manner, "Master Yan Bin is a deacon at our town's Martial Soul Hall~"
At this, Ling Yi paused, giving the middle-aged teacher and the other attentive teachers a moment to absorb the information, then continued,
"Later, Uncle Yan Bin even came to our village and stayed at my house for a few days. He said he wanted to observe how I trained..."
Upon hearing this, the three or four teachers around the admissions office desk perked up their ears and silently listened.
Meanwhile, Ling Yi spread open his right hand but did not summon his Martial Soul. He just continued speaking, "After about a week, Uncle Yan Bin told me that it might be because my Martial Soul is 'Blue Silver Grass,' and our village is covered with 'Blue Silver Grass,' that it inadvertently resonated with something called 'Mimicry Cultivation,' which led to this pace of training..."
"Mimicry Cultivation?" The middle-aged teacher and the others around couldn't help but frown.
This term, as teachers, was not unfamiliar to them. According to Ling Yi's account, it should have been what Deacon Yan Bin referred to as a 'Mimicry Cultivation Environment.'
The crux of the issue was that the "Mimicry Cultivation Environment" could enhance the pace at which soul masters developed their soul power. Across the entire Shumu Principality, only three places had publicly known access to this environment.
Only the principality's sole advanced soul master academy — The Institute of Botany — offered public access, and even then, it was limited to the elite students of the academy.
“The useless martial soul, 'Blue Silver Grass,' actually has this advantage?” muttered a teacher quietly, pulling the office's other occupants out from their deep contemplation.
Ling Yi, having heard the same remark, remained unfazed by the term 'useless martial soul,' neither growing angry nor despondent. With a look of innocent ignorance, he gazed at the middle-aged teacher and said, “Teacher, I practiced in the dorm last night. It was much slower than in my village...”
A hint of shyness and embarrassment tinged Ling Yi's fair face as he continued, “Um... could I... could I plant some 'Blue Silver Grass' by my bed in the dorm?”
“Plant 'Blue Silver Grass?'” The middle-aged teacher was momentarily taken aback by Ling Yi's unexpected request.
Ling Yi immediately wore a worried expression, fearing rejection, and quickly added, “Just use bamboo cups... or small flower pots, that should be enough.”
Seeing Ling Yi's anxious demeanor, the middle-aged teacher couldn't help but chuckle softly, shaking his head. Before Ling Yi could continue, the teacher lifted his hand, handing Ling Yi his martial soul certificate while saying, “Alright, if you want to plant them, go ahead. Just ensure it doesn't disturb the other students and that it's kept tidy.”
“Yeah!” Ling Yi's face lit up with joy. He extended both hands to receive his martial soul certificate, replying with a smile, “Thank you, Teacher. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful not to disturb the others or make a mess.”
"Alright~," the middle-aged teacher waved his hand and, after making a few entries on a form on the desk, said, "Your registration is complete here. Remember to go to the first floor of Building Three to update your accommodation information~"
"During these few free days, you should get acquainted with the academy. In about seven or eight days, school will start. If you're going to plant that 'Blue Silver Grass' of yours, do it early to avoid affecting your classes later..."
"Okay, okay~," Ling Yi gave a slight bow to the middle-aged teacher and said, "Then, teacher, goodbye—"
He then bowed to each of the other teachers around him, politely bidding farewell, "Goodbye, teachers~"
Despite not every teacher in the administrative office returning his goodwill with a smile, none greeted him with a cold shoulder either.
For Ling Yi, who was new here, this was enough.
Watching Ling Yi's departing figure, the five teachers in the office exchanged no words for a moment, each nonchalantly attending to their tasks at hand.
After a while, the middle-aged teacher in charge of admissions raised his head, looked around, and smirked, "Alright, let's drop the act. So, what do you all think?"
Lifting the freshly filled admission form bearing Ling Yi's details, someone gave it a little shake for everyone to see.
"What is there to see?" someone chimed in nonchalantly, "This young fellow claims that the Deacon from the Spirit Hall has already verified it. That's the situation; nothing more to say..."
"After all, it's just 'Blue Silver Grass'~"
"Exactly~," another agreed, adding, "As everyone knows, 'Blue Silver Grass' grows everywhere in rural areas. That kid's spirit is 'Blue Silver Grass', so cultivating it in places abundant with 'Blue Silver Grass' indeed fits the 'mimicry training environment' concept..."
"But this suits only those like him with 'Blue Silver Grass' spirits. For a spirit like my 'Azure Leopard', how could I possibly nurture a bunch of leopards?"
Hearing this, everyone instinctively nodded in agreement.
Indeed, if creating a 'mimicry training environment' were so simple, they wouldn't be so rare throughout the Douluo Continent. Only factions with substantial resources might possess them.
As for the possibility of Ling Yi lying, nobody considered it. Firstly, Ling Yi's demeanor and his mere seven years of age predisposed them to trust him. Secondly, what Ling Yi said could be easily verified. The distance between Beikouhe Town and 'Mu Zhi City' is about a day's journey for ordinary people, but for soul masters like them, it only takes one or two hours.
"Truly a lucky boy~," someone remarked.
Listening to this, another spoke indifferently once more, "And so what? In the end, it's still just 'Blue Silver Grass'!"
"Even if it's just 'Blue Silver Grass', he still has the potential to train to the tenth level and become a Soul Master..." one of the previous speakers couldn't help but refute, "Our academy enrolls dozens of new students every year, but after six years, not even half succeed in becoming Soul Masters!"
"..."
(End of Chapter)
