Chapter 8: Is There Such a Good Thing?
"What?!"
Old Gu and Jiang Yunming's voices suddenly rose.
Oh no!
Why are they reacting so strongly?
It's just an innate talent.
Will I be pulled out and dissected?
Logically, Mo Fan, with his heaven-defying talent, is living well, so I shouldn't be that bad.
Little did he know, innate Dual Elements had appeared a few times in history, but there was no one like Mo Fan, who could awaken Dual Elements at every stage.
However, Mo Fan, that Old 6, hid it well; by the time his talent was exposed, he had already become powerful enough that no one could easily manipulate him.
Xu Shen, however, didn't know that there were evil arts in this world that could strip others of their innate talents; otherwise, he would have guarded it fiercely.
But he wasn't flustered at the moment; he had long planned to expose his talent. Whether the result was good or bad, who cared? When a man dies, he faces heaven.
As expected of someone in a high position, Jiang Yunming's expression management was much better than Old Gu's. He quickly calmed down and asked kindly, "Xiao Xu, how many Star Dusts can you control now?"
Xu Shen honestly replied, "8 Star Dusts."
"8 Star Dusts, 8 Star Dusts, that's good," Jiang Yunming's eyes lit up, and his brows became even more amiable and approachable. "Little fellow, how about you come to our Summoning Department after you graduate?"
Xu Shen breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Jiang Yunming's words. As long as he wasn't dissected for research, anything was fine.
He scratched his head, "But I might not awaken the Summoning Department at the Intermediate Level."
Jiang Yunming smiled confidently, "If you continue to cultivate at your current pace, by the time you reach the Intermediate Level, your spiritual power cultivation will definitely enter the Second Realm. With a specialized Guiding Stone, I have at least a 90% certainty of helping you awaken the Summoning Department. Even if not, it will definitely be a Dimensional Magic."
Xu Shen knew how expensive a exclusive Guiding Stone was.
It is well known that every time a mage's cultivation advances a major realm, they gain an opportunity to awaken a new Department. Each awakening requires a Guiding Stone to succeed.
For example, Lightning Magic, known as the first elemental Department, has an awakening probability of only about one in a thousand when using an ordinary Awakening Stone. This is why Xu Zhaoting's awakening of Lightning Magic caused such a sensation and emptied the streets.
Using a Department-exclusive Guiding Stone can greatly increase the probability of awakening that Department, and its value is self-evident.
The most common energies floating between heaven and earth are elements such as light, wind, lightning, fire, water, ice, and earth. These seven elements also support the seven elemental magic Departments, which are the magic awakened by most mages.
Because awakening and controlling Black and White Magic and Dimensional Magic require extremely high spiritual power cultivation, ordinary mages with no special talent almost only awaken Elemental Magic at the Elementary Level.
After the Intermediate Level, there is a certain chance of awakening Black and White Magic, while Dimensional Magic has even more stringent requirements for spiritual power cultivation. Ordinary mages generally only have an increased probability of awakening it after the Advanced Level.
Such stringent awakening conditions result in overpowered strength.
There are currently four known Dimensional Magic Departments: Summoning, Space, Sound, and Chaos. None of them are easy to deal with.
If Elemental Magic is not enhanced by Heaven and Earth treasures like Spirit Seed or Soul Seed, it will generally not fare well against Dimensional Mages.
Guiding Stones for Dimensional Magic are inherently rarer than those for Elemental Magic.
And the overpowered performance of Dimensional Magic makes the prices of these Department's Guiding Stones sky-high.
After Jiang Yunming finished speaking, Xu Shen almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
Is there such a good thing?
Anyone who doesn't agree to a free opportunity is a fool.
Xu Shen was afraid Jiang Yunming wouldn't hear him, so he shouted the words "I agree" very loudly.
"Alright, Xiao Xu, you can go back first. Teacher Jiang and I have a few words to say. Don't tell anyone else about your innate talent for now."
"Okay, goodbye, two teachers!"
After Xu Shen walked out about ten meters, he finally burst into laughter, laughing extremely unrestrainedly.
In Old Gu's office, Jiang Yunming was humming a tune, legs crossed, feeling extremely pleased.
He thought, how did he happen to encounter such a genius?
"Yunming, isn't your decision a bit hasty? What if he doesn't awaken the Summoning Department at the Intermediate Level? Moreover, with innate Nine Stars, the structure of his magic will definitely be different from others."
Jiang Yunming chuckled, "Teacher, there are mages as numerous as carp crossing the river, but how many possess innate talent? For a genius like this, even if he doesn't join my Summoning Department, he's still within Mingzhu Academy anyway. It's like meat rotting in the pot, no loss."
Old Gu chuckled, and indeed it was.
However, regarding innate talent, Xu Shen wasn't the only one in their class. Unfortunately, the other one...
"As for the Star Atlas issue," Jiang Yunming couldn't stop smiling, "Teacher, since the birth of magic, countless pioneers have forged ahead, allowing humanity to gain a place of peaceful rest in a world ravaged by demons. As you know, in the field of magic, I never fear the unknown. A Star Atlas that has never existed before, such an excellent research subject is rare. I have even thought of the title for my next research project."
Old Gu looked at the confident Jiang Yunming and smiled with relief. This student was his pride, and his magical attainments had long surpassed his own by too much.
He still remembered that in high school, he always loved to argue with him, and back then, Jiang Yunming was more often wrong.
Later, he became right more and more often, and there was less and less that he could enlighten him about.
Which teacher doesn't hope their students become more and more successful?
Old Gu waved his hand, "Then you keep a close eye on Xiao Xu. Don't let others snatch him away. I remember he's still a visiting student."
What? How can that be!
Jiang Yunming immediately took out his phone.
With his position as Department Head, sorting out a student's status was too simple.
"Teacher, I have something else to do at Mingzhu Academy, so I'll head back first," Jiang Yunming said as he turned back at the door. "Almost forgot, Teacher, tell that kid Xu Shen to come to my place this weekend. We always need to show some real benefits to tie someone down."
...
In the library, Xu Shen was telling Ding Yuming about what happened that morning.
Because they couldn't make a fuss, the two were very close. The natural delicate fragrance of her body, combined with her incredibly captivating beauty, made Xu Shen a little lightheaded. As they chatted, his mind filled with a bunch of dirty thoughts.
Just then, his pants pocket started to vibrate.
Xu Shen breathed a sigh of relief, pulled out his phone, and quickly ran into the restroom. If he stayed any longer, his little brother wouldn't give him face.
The call was from the Academic Affairs Office, asking him if he wanted to transfer his visiting student status to a formal one, and they could also help him with his Shanghai household registration.
Xu Shen clicked his tongue, gaining a new understanding of the power of bigwigs.
Xu Shen naturally agreed wholeheartedly to such a good thing.
The status of a visiting student had many inconveniences, for example, Xu Shen could not enjoy the special cultivation resources of Mingzhu Affiliated High School.
Xu Shen also couldn't go on the annual teacher-led training expeditions.
He might not care about the training expeditions; he generally looked down on the trials for rookies.
But the cultivation resources of Mingzhu Affiliated High School were different. Just like Bo City's famous Earth Holy Spring, going in once could equate to several months of arduous cultivation.
This was an irresistible temptation for any mage.
Xu Shen happily hung up the phone, and it vibrated again. It was Old Gu's call.
Could it be that the thick-browed, big-eyed Director Jiang had changed his mind?
"Xiao Xu, Yunming asked me to tell you to remember to go to his place this weekend. He probably has some benefits for you. I've sent the address to your phone. Remember to go on time."
"Alright, Old Gu!"
With double happiness, Xu Shen happily returned to his seat and mischievously pinched Ding Yuming's little cheek.
It was like wanting to pet a kitten when you see one.
It is said that overly beautiful creatures always give people a feeling of "Ah, I'm going to die of cuteness." In order not to die of cuteness, one must act to destroy that cuteness.
So, Xu Shen had actually wanted to do this for a long time.
"Nice feel, let's continue reading," his eyes were full of smiles.
Ding Yuming stared at him blankly, seemingly not having reacted yet. By the time some ripples appeared in her eyes, Xu Shen had already pretended to pick up a copy of "Complete Guide to World Demon Distribution."
She furrowed her brow and lowered her head to read again.
Only when they left at noon, just before the doorstep, she subtly extended her flat shoe and watched Xu Shen stumble and fall out, a hint of a smile appearing in her eyes.