CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51: THE LAST STAR SHARD

"How so?" Lin Guang showed some interest, "Is the intel reliable?"

"How can I guarantee that? It was just something I found on the campus network. It’s said that Dr. Kaiwen has been in Zhen Sheng City for quite a few years, if you count, it’s almost been ten years now."

Almost ten years ago... which was shortly after that disaster.

For some reason, Lin Guang suddenly had a strange association.

Deng Yifeng continued, "Where Dr. Kaiwen came from and what achievements she had before, no one knows. At least, nothing can be found on the city (office) web. All that’s known is that she holds the title of a Senior Researcher and seems to be a High-Star Miracle Master. Two years ago, someone saw with their own eyes that Huai family’s luxury car brought a pile of gifts to the school seeking her guidance, but in the end, they left dejected and never disturbed her again."

The Huai family, one of the three major families in Zhen Sheng City, were among the first to settle when Zhen Sheng City was designated as a special zone a hundred years ago. During those turbulent years, they commandeered a lot of resources. Nowadays, they have people in many official positions, and the three major families combined almost hold half of Zhen Sheng City in their hands. It’s said they ate up all the perks of those times.

However, the relationship between Great Xia and the families is not entirely antagonistic, and Zhen Sheng City, as a special zone, is watched by many. The Huai family is not foolish, regardless of what they may do in secret, they don’t often commit overtly heinous acts – after all, for these families, in this yet-to-be-fully-divided pie of a world, more energy is always directed toward the Wilderness and Secret Realms.

But to be able to refuse an olive branch from the Huai family while still holding a position at the school shows she is not simple.

"Damn!" Wang Dawei exclaimed dramatically, giving Lin Guang a thumbs up, "To have someone like her guiding you, you’re tougher than the Huai family!"

"Lin Guang, are you still doing research with Dr. Kaiwen? Double Blue is amazing, but she feels too mysterious to care much. I feel your humanities scores attract her more."

"Hiss..."

Hearing Deng Yifeng’s analysis, Wang Dawei gasped, "Are you really in the same grade as us? When I was worried about breaking into three-digit scores, you were on your way to becoming a Researcher or even a Miracle Master?"

— As a Spirit Master specializing in Spirit, if you can’t break three digits in rote subjects, you’ve got it for life.

Lin Guang muttered in his heart and shook his head, "No, it’s just simple training. And becoming a Researcher or a Miracle Master isn’t such a cheap title; for the former, at least you need credit on a paper, and for the latter, you must pass the Miracle Master Association’s examination and approval. I haven’t achieved anything yet."

"Ha, but I always feel you’re up to something."

With a cold chuckle, Wang Dawei entirely disbelieves Lin Guang’s words—just as Lin Guang often accurately reads him, with his understanding of Lin Guang, Lin Guang’s current attitude absolutely suggests he’s planning something big.

He still remembers asking Lin Guang how he felt after the first assessment in high school, and this guy replied so-so, yet ended up the only perfect scorer in the whole school.

"So, what kind of training are you doing?" Deng Yifeng blinked, a knowing smile appearing on his face, "There must be those moments, right? The two of you wearing loose training garments, her coming close from behind you, helping you adjust your posture bit by bit..."

"Stop daydreaming, combat training is by Instructor Yu Haidong, you’d have pure divine reaction if you get excited by that."

"Oh my beans, that’s right... then meditation? She must be doing the meditation, right?"

"...Dr. Kaiwen is an old madam of unknown years, and you can even fantasize about that?" Lin Guang shook his head in exasperation.

"Why not?" Deng Yifeng puffed out his chest with a righteous face, "It’s just eighteen with an unknown zero months after!"

"Lin Guang, I dare not comment on study matters, but I must educate you on this, your thoughts are too conservative."

Wang Dawei also wore a knowing smile, "As the saying goes, ’a woman three years older is a brick of gold, three thousand years older a place among immortals’. You’re so outstanding, why not put in effort and make Dr. Kaiwen’s heart flutter? That would save decades of detours."

"..."

In this world, High-Star Spirit Masters generally don’t start looking aged until after 200, and their hormones stay young, so an age difference of a few decades really isn’t a big deal...

But aside from being attractive, Dr. Kaiwen doesn’t seem to care about such things...

— No, almost got led astray by these two guys.

"If you put your gossip energy into studying, you’d easily be in the top ten of the class."

Lin Guang sighed, shook his head, and banished the scattered thoughts from his mind.

With the arrival of the now ten-kilos-heavier Teacher Li, Lin Guang finally got some peace for his ears.

This history class was about the story of the Intelligent Mechanical World. Although Teacher Li told it well, Lin Guang only felt a bit disappointed he hadn’t heard anything new – due to his interest in intelligent machines, he had already watched a university professor’s public course online early on as if it were a fantasy story.

Thinking about it, he fished out a test paper from under the desk and started working on it.

Teacher Li, with his mellifluous voice, was passionately lecturing, and seeing Lin Guang’s head drop, he was a bit displeased, wondering if the fortune of contracting a Blue Elite Spirit Beast had made him complacent. Only after looking closely did he find Lin Guang doing the university entrance exam from seven years ago for Zhen Sheng City. Finally, he swallowed back the words that had almost reached his throat and continued the lecture, pretending nothing happened.

The morning classes quickly passed, and before Wang Dawei and Deng Yifeng could dash out of their seats, Lin Guang called out to Wang Dawei, "After the Spirit Pattern class, don’t rush off," not knowing if he heard or not.

After tidying up his notes, Lin Guang went to the office of their homeroom teacher, Ouyang Wei.

Not seen for a few days, he was still the same, coughing while asking Lin Guang how he felt these days, and whether he could keep up with the training and such.

After a few pleasantries, Lin Guang stated the purpose of his visit – asking Ouyang Wei if the Meditation Potion could be issued in advance.

In the high-pressure environment of the Meditation Pod, the effective components of the Meditation Potion are consumed quite quickly, leaving only a few percent.

After Lin Guang explained the reasons clearly, Ouyang Wei, after confirming repeatedly he indeed completed digestion, decisively authorized the issuance of the second bottle of Meditation Potion — after all, the school’s weekly distribution is not some login reward, it’s entirely because Meditation Potion is relatively precious and not very safe for students to keep. Seeing Lin Guang perform so well, how could they hold back from giving it?

Relying on this bottle of Meditation Potion and a little bit of effort (pain), by the time the class bell rang again, Lin Guang’s illustration of the One-Star Spirit Pattern [Ethereum Charging] reached 65%, and with Vishdair’s victory, he also gained the final Star Shard.

[Star Shard progress bar 100%, obtained 1 Star Shard.]