Ch79 - Shocking the Entire Faculty

After the call ended, the civil official struggled to keep his expression in check.

Lu Xingwang cast him a faint glance. “Something wrong?”

Though there was no real threat in his gaze, the civil official still felt a subtle trace of killing intent. His head bobbed like a rattle drum. “No!”

Lu Xingwang said, “Leave the things here and go.”

The civil official quickly nodded.

But just as he was halfway out, the prince’s voice rang out from behind. “Wait a moment.”

The civil official froze. In that instant, he genuinely feared that knowing too much might get him silenced. Without thinking, he spun around and blurted out, “Your Highness, I didn’t hear anything!”

“……”

For a moment, the room fell into complete silence.

Then, Lu Xingwang spoke. “From now on, try to schedule my nighttime outings during the day as much as possible.”

The civil official secretly let out a breath of relief but quickly responded, “Understood!”

Practically fleeing from the hall, he nearly collided with Aruo, who was approaching with a tray of candied fruits. A single glance was enough to tell they were meant for someone—something that had become a regular occurrence these days.

The civil official quickly said, “Alright, alright, Aruo-jie, no need to bother. That person won’t be coming.”

Aruo blinked in surprise. “Really?”

“It’s true. I heard it with my own ears.” The civil official wanted to say more, but the memory of His Highness’s gaze made him swallow his words. Still, his curiosity got the better of him. “Aruo-jie, who exactly is that child? Can you tell me in secret?”

Aruo glanced toward the palace and sighed. “This… isn’t something I can talk about.”

The civil official nearly choked.

Jie, aren’t you just leaving me hanging on purpose?

Thankfully, Aruo still had a bit of conscience. Seeing how genuinely curious he was, she lowered her voice and said, “I can’t say much about the rest, but there’s one thing you need to remember. That child has a powerful background, and more importantly, he means a lot to His Highness. Just treat him like a young master and serve him with care. Whatever you do, don’t offend him.”

That was enough for the civil official to get the picture.

His Highness had never kept anyone by his side all these years, and now, out of nowhere, someone had suddenly appeared. Who would believe there was nothing unusual about that? Either no one ever showed up, or when someone did, their importance was undeniable.

The civil official sighed. “Jie, don’t worry, I understand.”

There was no stopping it. If an iron tree bloomed, nothing could stand in its way.

……

On the other side—

Jian Mei was in the dormitory when he received the latest message.

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“They’ll send us into a virtual forest and assign each of us a task. Our performance and completion rate will determine our scores.” For once, Nanfeng toned down his usual carefree attitude and spoke seriously. “It’s not easy.”

But Jian Mei didn’t react the way he expected—no panicked flailing or frantic questioning. He simply responded with a calm “Oh.”

Nanfeng wasn’t convinced and tried to tease him. “Aren’t you scared?”

“I’m scared.”

“Then why aren’t you reacting?”

“I have to see how hard it is before I react,” Jian Mei explained earnestly. “Just hearing about it doesn’t help—I can’t picture it.”

For once, Nanfeng was at a complete loss for words.

For some reason, Nanfeng found Jian Mei’s mindset surprisingly admirable—something even worth learning from. After spending time with him, he had come to see that while this kid could be a little dense at times, he was genuinely a good person.

In the end, Nanfeng couldn’t help but add, “If you can’t handle it, don’t force yourself. If it gets too tough, just call for a stop.”

Jian Mei asked, “What happens if I fail the test?”

“Hmm… well, since I started school, no one’s ever failed.” Nanfeng glanced at Jian Mei and chuckled. “But if you really do fail, you might get demoted to a lower grade.”

Jian Mei asked, “If I get demoted, does that mean I have to leave?”

Nanfeng stroked his chin. “Probably.”

Jian Mei simply nodded.

Nanfeng was dumbfounded. He poked Jian Mei’s head. “Hey, you’re really not worried at all? If you get demoted, you’ll have to leave SA. People will laugh at you. Doesn’t that bother you?”

Jian Mei looked up at him. “But if I don’t belong here, wouldn’t forcing myself to stay be even worse?”

Nanfeng suddenly realized he had no comeback—this kid was sharper than he looked.

“Good luck to you, then,” he said.

……

The next day, the SA class underwent their assessment test.

For this exam, all students were taken to a classroom on the top floor, where rows of virtual pods lined the room. Once inside, the machines automatically connected to their brains and bodies, immersing them in a simulated test environment designed to evaluate their overall abilities.

Because this was a major exam for the top-tier class, not only was their homeroom teacher, Aster, present, but even the principal and the directors of various grade levels had arrived to observe. The students taking the test included second-years Nanfeng and Ying, along with first-years Jian Mei, Yunshi, and Xiwu Heng.

Once the students were settled in, the principal looked at Aster and asked, “Aster, what do you think about this exam?”

The blonde woman named Aster was the homeroom teacher of the SA class.

She glanced at the screen displaying the students and curved her lips into a faint smile. “I’m not too worried about the others, but that boy, Jian Mei… I still can’t quite figure him out.”

The principal stroked his beard. “After observing him these past few days, have you discovered anything about his abilities?”

Aster sighed and shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I haven’t discovered anything yet.”

The principal didn’t push further. Instead, he smiled slightly and said, “Then let’s see how they perform in today’s exam. Maybe we’ll catch a hint of something.”

Not far from them, a black-bearded professor let out a cold snort. “I knew from the start that this commoner had no right to be in SA. If someone like him graduates, it’ll be a stain on our reputation. People will start questioning if our school accepts just anyone!”

Aster frowned. “Professor Hu Kan, he’s my student now. Whether he’s qualified or not is for me to decide. I’d appreciate it if you showed some respect.”

Hu Kan looked down on this pretty-faced woman, but he was also wary of her. In the end, he let out another cold snort. “Then just wait and see. That kid has no divine power—he’ll be scared out of his wits in the forest!”

……

Jian Mei’s trial took place in a vast, shadowy forest, where towering trees loomed overhead, blocking out the light. Standing on the narrow woodland path, he could hear the occasional cries of unseen birds and beasts echoing through the dense foliage.

A voice echoed in the air, “Within one day, locate the hostage trapped somewhere in the forest.”

This was no simple task. The forest was crawling with dangerous magical beasts, and the path forward was riddled with hazards—dense misty swamps, swarms of bats, and even illusionary formations. An ordinary person would never make it out alive. The test was designed to measure the participants’ ability to assess their surroundings and confront danger head-on.

Aster remarked, “What’s truly being tested here is these children’s ability to stay calm and make rational decisions.”

When Jian Mei learned that he had to find the forest exit, he took in his surroundings without the slightest hint of fear. Having spent his childhood following his grandfather through the mountains, dense forests like this were nothing out of the ordinary for him.

Before long, he came across a sign that read: “The road ahead is uneven. Bat-like magical beasts have been sighted.”

Most people would have chosen to take a detour.

But Jian Mei studied the sign carefully. Out of the entire sentence, he only recognized the first two characters—‘ahead.’ He paused for a moment, then, as if having an epiphany, confidently walked forward.

The judges: “……”

Was he always this fearless?

As Jian Mei ventured deeper into the forest, the trees grew increasingly dense, and a strange, pungent scent lingered in the air. It was likely the toxic miasma from a nearby swamp. Fortunately, his grandfather had taught him that in misty forests like this, antidote herbs often grew nearby.

He stopped at once and carefully searched the undergrowth. After a while, he finally found what he was looking for. Instead of rushing forward, Jian Mei ground the herbs into a paste and applied it to his exposed skin. Then, tearing a strip of fabric from his small backpack, he fashioned a crude mask before pressing on.

Outside, Hu Kan scoffed again. “Such useless theatrics! He’s just stalling for time! The fog is already there, and he hasn’t even noticed it—he’s going to collapse any second now!”

Some of the other professors shook their heads and sighed.

But to everyone’s surprise, Jian Mei walked straight into the fog without the slightest hesitation. His expression remained composed, his steps light and steady.

Above him, hundreds—perhaps thousands—of demonic bats clung to the towering trees. In the other test areas, students were locked in fierce battles against them, the air thick with chaos. But here…

Jian Mei, his skin coated in the herbal extract, reeked of a scent the bats despised. His movements were silent and precise, barely disturbing the air around him. More importantly, he exuded not even a hint of fear—the very thing these creatures preyed on.

To them, he was utterly unremarkable, a presence so dull and tasteless that they couldn’t even be bothered to attack.

As for Jian Mei…

It wasn’t that he was fearless—he just couldn’t see anything through the thick fog.

While battles raged on in the other test areas, his surroundings remained eerily quiet. Under the stunned gazes of the instructors, he strolled out of the misty forest without a scratch—and even stretched as if he had just woken up from a nap.

“Where’s the hostage?” he muttered, puzzled.

Ahead, a sign stood at a fork in the road. It read: Flame Pool ahead—last known location of the hostage.

But instead of following the sign’s directions, Jian Mei, in full view of everyone, deliberately chose the other path.

The instructors were dumbfounded. Not only was this completely opposite to what the sign had indicated, but his trial felt less like a dangerous test and more like a casual spring outing.

Since he lacked divine powers, he inevitably got bitten by a venomous insect or snake at some point. Yet, instead of panicking, he nonchalantly grabbed some nearby herbs, pressed them against the wound, and expertly treated and bandaged himself—as if it were second nature to him. He also instinctively knew which fruits were safe to eat and which were not.

While the other students were locked in intense battles, Jian Mei was either taking a leisurely stroll or calmly preparing for the next part of his journey.

Professor Hu Kan scoffed. “Hmph, just luck. I refuse to believe he’ll actually make it to the end!”

By this point, even the principal and homeroom teacher felt a mix of emotions. This kid never failed to catch them off guard.

Meanwhile, as the other competitors remained locked in fierce battles and the spectators wrestled with their emotions, Jian Mei casually walked up to a small creek—where he unexpectedly locked eyes with the hostage.

The hostage looked utterly dumbfounded. He stammered, “Y-Y-You… why didn’t you follow the signs? You’re supposed to be lost right now! Shouldn’t you be stuck at the fire pit?”

Jian Mei tilted his head in confusion. Scratching his head sheepishly, he admitted, “What signs? I can’t read. I had no idea what they said—I just assumed they were danger warnings telling me to stay away.”

The hostage was even more shocked—after all, no one else had managed to find her yet. “T-Then you shouldn’t have been able to get here either! There was a maze array ahead. Normal people can’t get through it!”

“A maze?” Jian Mei’s expression shifted into genuine surprise, as if he wouldn’t have even known about it if she hadn’t mentioned it. He glanced back at the path he had taken and said casually, “I had no idea. But that path was really tricky to walk through, so I just left a mark every time I moved forward. If I noticed I was repeating the same route, I’d immediately change direction. And then… I ended up here.”

“……”

The hostage fell silent.

While everyone else was unleashing their divine powers, this guy had brute-forced his way through with pure common sense.

Nobody knew how to respond to this.