The Unthinkable Record and The Lecturer's Burden
In the teleportation zone of the Hall of Initiation, the earth-shattering "Twenty-Nine Minutes" record did not merely create temporary shock; it struck at the very heart of the Dragon's Zenith Academy's curriculum and credibility. The news was a seismic event, demanding immediate, secretive intervention from the highest ranks.
The monitoring senior student, recovering from his state of extreme shock, dared not delay. He knew the mission time was public knowledge; a failure to quickly contain the explanation for this absurdity could lead to chaos and accusations of forgery. He immediately used his communication jade talisman to report the horrifyingly fast mission completion directly to the duty lecturer of the day: Lecturer Xing Sen.
Lecturer Xing Sen, a man in his forties with a resolute, austere face and eyes as sharp as an eagle's, was primarily responsible for novice trial affairs and was known for his rigorous discipline and stern demeanour. He was a man who valued order above all.
When the phrases "Twenty-nine minutes," "Cloudmist Marsh," and "Five flawless Cloud-Hidden Flowers" crackled through the talisman, his grip instantly tightened, and his brow furrowed into a deep lock. The raw data felt like an insult to the memory of the ancestors who calibrated the trial.
"Twenty-nine minutes? Are you certain the Time Sundial wasn't faulty? Have you manually checked the array's internal timestamps for tampering?" His voice, transmitted through the talisman, carried an undeniable, chilling intensity.
"Lecturer Xing Sen, it is absolutely true! The Sundial is functioning normally, and the Cloud-Hidden Flowers have been repeatedly verified by myself and other masters—there is no deception! But... one member is critically injured and was carried out. They are barely holding on..." The senior student's voice was strained, caught between the shock of the time and the sight of the critical injury.
Critically injured and unconscious? Xing Sen's frown deepened further, transforming into a look of heavy, professional disquiet. This speed, juxtaposed with the severity of the injury, suggested not just reckless daring, but a desperate, catastrophic event.Such a performance risks creating an impossible standard, he thought darkly, or worse, exposing some flaw in the trial array itself.
"Understood. I will report this to the Dean immediately! Maintain the mission file and all ancillary data under Lock-Code Gamma. No further discussion."
Xing Sen made an instantaneous decision, snapping the communication shut. His figure shimmered, transforming into a streak of spiritual light. He was not just running to report a success; he was running to manage a potential crisis.
Ascending the Stargazing Tower
Xing Sen arrived at the base of the Stargazing Tower, a magnificent structure of polished black obsidian and jade, designed to draw spiritual energy from the celestial sphere. Its very architecture spoke of the Dean's focus on the transcendent and the long-term fate of the Academy.
At the top of the Tower, Dean Xuan Ji stood leaning against the railing. The atmosphere was calm, permeated by the scent of ancient incense and the powerful, steady resonance of a Heavenly-Tier cultivator. His gaze seemed fixed upon the boundless star river above, detached from the mundane.
Hearing Lecturer Xing Sen's hurried report, he slowly turned. Even in his eyes—deep and profound as the sea of stars—a rare hint of surprise flickered, instantly contained by eons of discipline.
"Twenty-nine minutes? The Cloudmist Marsh?"
Xuan Ji repeated softly, his fingers unconsciously stroking his long, snowy-white beard. He walked to a crystalline table and activated a low-level diagnostic array. He took a deliberate moment, channelling his potent spiritual sense to verify the temporal accuracy, confirming the raw data was undeniably twenty-nine minutes.
"Lecturer Xing Sen, are you aware that the founding ancestor who established this trial estimated the best-case passing time to be one hour, assuming zero resistance and peak physical conditioning? This is a deviation of over sixty percent."
"Student knows! It is precisely why I find this matter exceedingly strange! The logistics defy comprehension," Xing Sen bowed. "The distress and the critical injury suggest a struggle far beyond their capacity. It implies a single, catastrophic moment of power that defies all rules."
Dean Xuan Ji nodded slowly, interest gradually warming his eyes. "It seems the youngsters of this generation have presented us with quite a 'surprise.'"
With a flick of his sleeve, spiritual light gathered in the empty space before him, swiftly coalescing into a smooth, wave-like Water Mirror. Within the mirror, the replay of the mission began, sourced directly from the "All-Seeing Eye Array."
The Interruption: The Nullification Principle
The screen clearly displayed the team's initial caution, the fierce fight against the leech horde, the collapse of their defense, and the subsequent appearance of the Poison Leech King.
Then came the selfless sacrifice: Lin Yan, the timid novice from the Divination College, throwing his body forward without hesitation, pushing He Lingxuan away and taking the Leech King's fatal bite directly on his arm!
"That child... such unexpected courage," Xing Sen murmured, genuine awe replacing his earlier scorn. He traded his life for another—a devastating sacrifice, but a comprehensible human act.
The image continued: Lin Yan collapsed, severely injured, the potent venom taking effect. Li Shulai and Chen Ruipeng unleashed their final desperate bursts of power. Just as they were about to strike the Leech King—
Sizzle... Sss-CRACKLE—!
The image in the Water Mirror suddenly began to flicker and twist violently! Large swaths of static-like noise covered the footage, as if subjected to an overwhelmingly powerful and bizarre external interference!
"What is this...!" Xing Sen's face paled. "The All-Seeing Eye's record has been interfered with? How is that possible! What power could interfere with the surveillance of the Academy's core grand array?"
Dean Xuan Ji's snowy eyebrows furrowed deeply. He extended a finger and injected a stream of pure spiritual energy into the Water Mirror, attempting to stabilize the feed.
Xing Sen quickly offered his theory: "Dean, the All-Seeing Eye is sensitive to temporal and spatial distortions. To induce such a complete, localized blind spot... I suspect it must be either the activation of an immense, unknown Celestial Treasure or the instantaneous, unbridled manifestation of a truly Divine Law. Conventional Mana release, no matter how great, simply dissipates; it doesn't silence our array."
Dean Xuan Ji slowly withdrew his spiritual energy, the frustration barely visible. "You speak truth, Xing Sen. The All-Seeing Eye's matrix is designed to filter out localized Mana fluctuations. This disruption is not a fluctuation; it is a nullification of the array's observation parameters. It felt like the sudden imposition of an alien principle—a concept of reality so absolute it overrides our established array of logic. It is as if the source energy itself rejected the very idea of being monitored." He mused on the implications of a force powerful enough to choose not to be seen.
This anomalous interference lasted for approximately twenty seconds.
The Clean Sweep and The Secret Edict
When the footage in the Water Mirror finally stabilized and became clear again, the scene had drastically changed!
The surging, seemingly endless tide of Poison Leeches was gone. The ferocious Leech King was gone.
The image showed only destruction: scorched earth, and countless dense leech carcasses floating lifelessly on the water's surface.
He Lingxuan was quickly returning from a distance, holding the jade box containing the Cloud-Hidden Flowers. The path she had taken was unnaturally 'clean'!
"This..." Xing Sen drew a sharp breath, his gaze fixed on the scorched earth. "Dean, look! The distribution of these leech corpses... and the area around He Lingxuan... this is beyond the mortal realm! This wasn't a fight; it was an execution! What exactly happened during those twenty seconds when the surveillance was lost?!"
Dean Xuan Ji silently watched the eerie post-battle scene. He looked at the clean path and the mass extermination, then finally turned from the Water Mirror. He performed a third, long spiritual sweep of the area's residual energy, finding nothing—confirming the power had been vast, instantaneous, and completely withdrawn. The efficiency of the cleanse—leaving no trace of the power used—deepened his professional alarm.
He looked at Xing Sen, his tone absolute: "Lecturer Xing Sen, this is not a student using skill. This is an event, a temporal fracture linked to that boy. Adjust this team's mission grade to 'Observation Class.' Regarding today's anomaly in the Water Mirror and the details of the mission, classify them as Grade B Confidential; they are not to be disseminated without a resolution from the Elder Council."
"Furthermore," Xuan Ji paused, his voice ringing with the authority of the Academy's founder. "Under the Academy's authority, allocate the best available healing elixirs—specifically the Five-Element Soul Restoration Pills—to ensure that the child's life is secured. The moment he shows any sign of awakening, however minute, notify me immediately. His sacrifice was not in vain, and his current state is the key to understanding this entire event."
Xing Sen felt a profound chill. He bowed low, responding: "Yes! Student understands!"