As Huo Lin leaned his head over, ready to listen to the Secret Technique Hong Yu was about to share.
A table separated him and Hong Yu, so as Huo Lin leaned forward, half his body was pressed against the table, his head stretched out, his chest hovering right above the Spirit Array Rune.
Seeing his posture, a playful, mysterious smile spread across Hong Yu's face. "Examiner Huo, keeping a Spirit Array Rune stable is actually very simple. Take this Black Wind Rune I constructed, for example. There's really no secret to it. It's just a Tier One Advanced Inscription, capable of withstanding sixteen broken connections. So even after you severed fifteen of them, it's still perfectly stable!"
"Impossible."
Huo Lin shook his head fiercely. "To deduce and construct a Tier One Advanced Inscription, one would have to be a Tier Two Spiritual Craftsman. How could a brat like you, who isn't even a certified Spiritual Craftsman, possibly manage it?"
Hong Yu looked at him earnestly. "The only reason I'm not a certified Spiritual Craftsman is because I've never been to the Spiritual Craftsman Guild. That doesn't an I'm not one! Besides, the exam only required us to use a Spirit Array Rune we deduced ourselves. I referenced an ancient text and then modified it to create this Inscription. What's so impossible about that?"
"Huh?"
Huo Lin froze.
Then, he erupted in fury, pointing at Hong Yu. "You bastard! So you were prepared all along? Damn you! And you even pretended to be having a hard ti. I'll fucking waste you."
Fury blazed in Huo Lin's eyes.
Hong Yu waved his hands frantically. "Whoa, whoa! Examiner Huo, rein in your Elental Power! You've already broken fifteen connection points on my Black Wind Rune; it's not as stable as it was. Your Elental Power could trigger it at any mont!"
"Bullshit! I'm a goddamn Tier One Advanced Spiritual Craftsman. You think I don't know the properties of a Spirit Array Rune? Unless it's inscribed on an Artifact Embryo, how could it possibly unleash any destructive power?"
Huo Lin bellowed, his face crimson with rage.
A torrential wave of Elental Power surged through his body, finally gathering in his palm.
Huo Lin's power was considerable; he was at the Peak of the Earth Soul Realm. The Elental Power he gathered was imnse, and he was about to form it into a massive Energy Palm Seal to strike Hong Yu.
However…
Just then, the unexpected happened!
On the Engraving Plate beneath Huo Lin, the etched Black Wind Rune was affected by his Elental Power. Specks of starlike light suddenly erupted from the broken connection points.
Energy coursed through its crisscrossing channels, unleashing a black, energetic luster.
BOOM!
A jet of black energy shot out from the Engraving Plate.
The black light was only fist-sized at first, but it instantly swelled, expanding like a large black sack inflating against Huo Lin's lower abdon.
Huo Lin froze. "What's happening?"
Hong Yu spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "I told you not to be so impulsive. Now you've done it!"
"What?"
Huo Lin looked down blankly, and his expression changed dramatically.
The black, sack-like Energy Ball swelled to its limit and then, with a BOOM, it exploded.
A powerful wave of energy erupted!
Ripples of energy, like crashing waves, swept out and enveloped Huo Lin, wrapping around half his body like a giant black hand. Then, the hand flicked, and with a SWOOSH, sent him flying into the testing benches.
CRASH! BANG! SMASH!
The row of testing benches toppled one after another like dominoes.
THUD!
Huo Lin slamd heavily into the wall, half his body becoming embedded in it.
GASP!
A collective gasp swept through the room.
Everyone stared at each other, mouths agape.
They looked from Hong Yu, who was still standing in his original spot, to the pathetic figure of Huo Lin. For a mont, it felt as though their brains had short-circuited, and all they could do was swallow nervously.
"Examiner Huo, are you all right?"
Hong Yu casually strolled over, squatted down, and looked at the ashen-faced Huo Lin.
Huo Lin shook his head. The explosion had been too sudden, and since he hadn't put up any defense, he was quite seriously injured.
He let out a few dry coughs and looked at Hong Yu. "W-Why? Your Spirit Array Rune never even ford a Primordial Weapon. Why did it have so much power?"
Hong Yu grinned. "It's actually quite simple…"
He held up the Engraving Plate, pointed to the black plate and the Black Wind Rune on it, and explained, "Because I used this Engraving Plate as a Primordial Weapon Embryo. The Black Wind Rune was carved directly onto it, making this Engraving Plate a complete Primordial Weapon. Normally, it takes a special technique to activate the Black Wind Rune. However, Examiner, one of the connection points you happened to sever was a control node, so it detonated the instant it was stimulated by your Elental Power!"
"Y-You used the Engraving Plate itself as an Artifact Embryo? H-How is that possible?"
Huo Lin was so crestfallen he was speechless.
Hong Yu rubbed his nose, stood up, and left the Engraving Plate behind. He rummaged through the wreckage and found a badge signifying a Tier One Spiritual Craftsman.
He held up the badge and waved it at Huo Lin, grinning. "I think this performance should be enough to pass the Spiritual Craftsman assessnt. Ah, and sorry about the ss. I'll treat you to tea next ti!"
After stowing the badge, Hong Yu laced his hands behind his head and sauntered toward the exit.
All the other examinees watched Hong Yu with expressions of awe.
They all parted to either side, making way for him.
Beichen Guang's eyes burned with fiery admiration. "Brother Hong, y-you're incredible!"
Hong Yu chuckled. "You can be, too, if you work hard! By the way, trust the connection point pattern I gave you. Just be careful with your energy control when you integrate it into the Primordial Weapon, and I'm sure you'll pass the assessnt!"
"Yes, yes! Thank you, Brother Hong!"
Beichen Guang nodded excitedly.
Hong Yu laughed heartily and walked out, whistling an off-key little tune.
Just as he stepped out of the examination hall, a fragrant scent washed over him. Caught completely off guard, he was knocked backward by a figure that had run straight into him.
Hong Yu quickly pulled his hands from behind his head to brace his fall, but he was distracted by a warm, soft sensation in his arms. Before he could react, he only had ti to steady the person he'd collided with before landing flat on his back with a THUD, the impact making him wince in pain.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't do it on purpose, I'm really, really sorry!"
Before he could even get his bearings, a clear, gentle voice spoke from his arms.
The voice was so gentle, it sounded as sweet as cotton candy.
As he breathed, a faint, elegant fragrance like silk-cotton flowers tickled his nose, a refreshing and pleasant scent.
Hong Yu looked down to see a young girl in a pink dress. She was rubbing her head and apologizing, her eyes squinted into crescents. Her face was fair and rosy, with delicate features that looked as if they were carved from jade. Her straight-cut bangs frad her face perfectly.
She was, without a doubt, an unbelievably cute girl!
"I'm sorry, I really didn't an to!" the girl apologized again and again.
Hong Yu gave a wry smile. He tried to pull his hands back but found one was pinned under the girl. "Could you get up first?"
"Ah!"
The girl, startled, scrambled to her feet. In her haste, she accidentally stepped right on Hong Yu's face.
Hong Yu: "…"
The girl: "…"
After finally getting to her feet, she stood to the side, fidgeting and clutching the hem of her dress with her pale hands. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "S-Sorry. I shouldn't have been r-running in such a hurry."
Hong Yu rubbed his nose.
'This girl isn't just cute, she's adorably clumsy!'
He laughed it off and said, "Well, since we're both okay, I'll be on my way!"
The girl blushed and lowered her head. "O-Okay. T-Take care! Please co again…"
"…"
Hong Yu nearly stumbled and fell. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 'Girl, if anyone else heard you say that, they'd get the completely wrong idea!'
Frustrated, Hong Yu beat a hasty retreat.
The adorably clumsy girl blinked her big, fluttering eyelashes. Once she saw Hong Yu was a good distance away, her tense nerves finally relaxed.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her left hand, lightly tapped her head with her right, and muttered, "Phew, that was close. Good thing he didn't grab and demand compensation."
Beichen Guang and the others looked at one another speechlessly. "…"
'Girl, you were the one who got felt up, weren't you?'
'You should be the one demanding compensation, but instead you're glad he didn't demand it from you after feeling you up?'
In an instant, everyone, including Beichen Guang, was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. Their eyes were full of bitter longing. 'Why wasn't I the one he bumped into?'
The girl walked into the examination hall. Seeing the utter chaos, she furrowed her delicate eyebrows and asked in her cotton-candy-soft voice, "What happened? How did a Tier One Spiritual Craftsman assessnt make this place look like a warzone?"
"M-Miss Tang, it's like this…"
Huo Lin explained, his face a mask of misery.
Of course, he conveniently omitted the part where he had deliberately given Hong Yu a hard ti, saying only that Hong Yu had carved the Inscription directly onto the Engraving Plate, which led to the accident.
The girl didn't seem to suspect anything, and she looked down at the Engraving Plate on the floor with a puzzled expression.
But after a single glance, the girl's bright, black-gem-like eyes went wide. She gingerly picked up the Engraving Plate and began to examine it closely. Her lips ford a pout so pronounced you could have hung a small bottle from them, and her cheeks puffed out as if stuffed with two large grapes.
Innocent, airheaded…
The girl's adorable cluelessness made Huo Lin and the others stare, completely transfixed.
The girl suddenly yelped and jumped to her feet, slapping her forehead in frustration.
"I'm so dumb! If I can't figure it out, I'll just show it to Grandpa!"
The girl skipped as she ran out the door.
Hong Yu, long since gone, had no idea that the girl's simple action would soon bring him so very persistent trouble.
And that trouble would co knocking on his door very, very soon…
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