Chapter 69: Obvious Hints

—

Everyone had thought that the speed shown at the beginning was Professor Ming’s limit.

But after getting hit once by Men Ji, it was like he’d freaking powered up—his speed increased insanely!

They had all seen it clearly. After Men Ji punched him in the abdomen, the professor coughed up blood.

Then, as if some switch had been flipped, his sword became a blur, leaving afterimages.

He was so fast that even Men Ji couldn’t react, right?

If Professor Chen Gui hadn’t shouted at the last second, they truly believed Ming would have chopped Men Ji’s head clean off…

And crucially, it wasn’t just his speed; his power was terrifyingly immense.

His defense seemed ridiculously high too.

Men Ji’s Black Rock Rune ranked near the top tier in terms of both defense and attack power.

Yet, after taking that first punch and coughing up blood, Ming proceeded to shatter Men Ji’s Black Rock armor. What kind of strength was that?

Most importantly, not a single person present sensed him using his rune!

They didn’t even feel any ghostly energy!

In an instant, layers of mystery enveloped this professor, adding to the enigma he already was.

—

“Did you see that?” the woman in red, Yan Yan, asked Jun Rufen via spiritual transmission, her eyes filled with a trace of bewilderment.

“Red… ghostly energy? Or did his rune alter the appearance of his ghostly energy?” Jun Rufen replied, also sounding somewhat puzzled.

Although Xu Shen hadn’t revealed his rune throughout the fight, or even let its aura leak out, few on the school’s ranking list were simpletons.

They had noticed faint traces of blood-red energy occasionally appearing on Xu Shen’s longsword.

It was extremely subtle, but they had seen it.

“Yan Yan, your family has researched these kinds of phenomena. Have you ever seen anything like this?” Jun Rufen asked.

“No,” Yan Yan replied decisively, shaking her head. “Ghostly energy can’t change color. That red aura must be caused by his rune.”

“But… he’s only at Core Solidification. He hasn’t reached Flame Mastery. How could he integrate his ghostly energy and rune so perfectly?” Her mind was even more confused than Jun Rufen’s.

“Let’s go,” Jun Rufen said after a moment. “Regardless, this new professor is far from simple.”

“Setting aside his combat strength, just his skill in rune engraving, enough to earn Professor Chen’s high regard, makes him worth getting acquainted with.”

Jun Rufen took one last deep look at Xu Shen before turning and leaving with Yan Yan.

—

“Young friend, are you… alright?”

Seeing Xu Shen approach, Chen Gui initially wanted to say ‘good thing you held back in time.’

But noticing the faint bloodstains on Xu Shen’s clothes, he changed his tune. He must be injured too, better show some concern.

Xu Shen shook his head, ignoring the countless stares from the surrounding crowd, and walked away with Chen Gui.

—

Inside the Engraving Department building, in Chen Gui’s office.

“Young friend, I didn’t expect your combat strength to be so formidable,” Chen Gui said, looking at Xu Shen with approval. “Although Men Ji hasn’t mastered his ghostly energy yet, there’s still a realm difference between you.”

He nodded, feeling even more validated in his decision to recruit Xu Shen.

Xu Shen was currently circulating his blood energy, silently healing his internal injuries.

Men Ji’s punch had nearly pulverized his organs and broken seven or eight ribs. He was barely holding himself together.

Without activating his Battle Art and fully unleashing his Weapon Rune, fighting a Flame Mastery cultivator was indeed incredibly risky.

He was certain Men Ji had also held back, not wanting to go all-out within the school grounds.

He, too, hadn’t used the sharp edge of his blade.

In the end, he had infused the power of his Weapon Rune into the blade, using the flat side to break through Men Ji’s defense.

If he had used the actual blade edge, given its ability to bypass defenses, he was afraid he might have accidentally killed Men Ji.

“Mastered ghostly energy? What do you mean?” Xu Shen asked after a while, feeling somewhat recovered. Is there another way to use ghostly energy? Why has no one ever mentioned it?

Chen Gui, being a Yinshen Realm expert, had noticed Xu Shen healing but hadn’t pointed it out.

“You haven’t reached Flame Mastery, so it’s normal not to know,” Chen Gui nodded, unsurprised, and began to explain.

“You’ve surely seen that many graduating students here at Capital University are already at Flame Mastery.”

“But compared to the Flame Mastery cultivators in Xinhuo Guard, they are at least thirty percent weaker!”

“The root cause is their lack of mastery over the application of ghostly energy.”

“Before Flame Mastery, most initiates only know how to channel ghostly energy into their runes to activate the rune’s power.”

“But ghostly energy is far more complex than that,” Chen Gui said, his expression turning serious.

“During their channeling process, a lot of overflowing ghostly energy is simply wasted.”

“Flame Mastery cultivators, however, learn to harness that wasted ghostly energy, using it to strengthen their bodies and synergize with their runes, multiplying their combat effectiveness.”

“Then why don’t Awakening or Core Solidification cultivators practice mastering ghostly energy?” Xu Shen carefully recalled his experiences. He was sure he’d never heard of this, so it probably wasn’t because he hadn’t paid attention in class (if he ever had any).

“Ghostly energy… the name itself implies it’s not entirely benign,” Chen Gui explained. “Before Flame Mastery, both the body and mind are too fragile. Trying to control it prematurely can easily lead to severe problems.”

Chen Gui raised a finger. Xu Shen looked closely.

A wisp of black ghostly energy danced around Chen Gui’s fingertip, shifting and changing shape with incredible flexibility.

“Effortless control, no wasted power. The rune and the body are both enhanced by the ghostly energy.”

“This marks the true beginning of Flame Mastery. Men Ji, currently, is only a half-baked Flame Mastery cultivator.”

Xu Shen finally understood. No wonder he felt Men Ji was significantly weaker than the third-tier corpse worm. Back then, he had gone all out (except for Battle Art) just to kill the worm. But against Men Ji, he hadn’t even fully unleashed his blood energy.

After explaining, Chen Gui fell silent, looking towards the now-open office door.

Following his gaze, Xu Shen saw a robust middle-aged man in long robes striding in with a smile.

“Professor Chen, this must be Professor Ming? Truly extraordinary upon meeting him today!”

“Hello, I’m Cheng Xin, one of the vice-principals,” the middle-aged man said, extending his hand toward Xu Shen with a smile.

Xu Shen felt a jolt internally but stood up calmly and shook the offered hand.

“Hello. Ming.”

“Professor Ming… so young?” Cheng Xin’s eyes flashed with surprise upon hearing Xu Shen’s voice. He glanced skeptically at Chen Gui. If Chen Gui weren’t such a renowned professor, Cheng Xin might have suspected him of pulling strings to help a friend’s descendant gain credentials.

“What, do you look down on young people?”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Chen Gui who spoke, but Ming, who suddenly turned his indifferent gaze towards Cheng Xin.

Although slightly displeased, Cheng Xin maintained his smile. “Of course not. Heroes often emerge young. We were all that age once.”

“Professor Ming, I have some other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. We’ll meet again.”

With that, Cheng Xin turned and left.

Once Cheng Xin was gone, Chen Gui spoke again.

“He’s from the Cheng family of Southern Ridge City. They hold significant power. No need to provoke him.”

“He can be rather petty.”

Xu Shen already knew the moment Cheng Xin introduced himself. Capital University, Cheng, Vice-Principal – these three factors pointed only to him.

“Professor Chen,” Xu Shen suddenly asked via spiritual transmission, “is it possible for Moon Cult members to infiltrate the university?”

“Or would they dare to make a move here?”

Chen Gui raised an eyebrow. What a leap in topic.

He shook his head seriously. “Impossible. The university is one of the capital’s most critical areas. Unless the Moon Cult has gone completely insane and wants all-out war with Xia Nation, they wouldn’t dare act within the academy.”

“As for infiltration… well, that’s not something to worry too much about.”

This last sentence left Xu Shen puzzled.

“The Moon Cult has too many methods; we can’t guard against everything,” Chen Gui elaborated. “Rather than constantly watching for them, it’s better to let them be.”

“As long as they don’t cause trouble or reveal themselves, we generally leave them alone.”

“But the moment they are exposed, they will be eliminated without fail!”

“If someone could truly infiltrate Capital University, their methods must be incredibly subtle.”

“If they don’t cause trouble, they likely won’t be bothered.”

“Pushing them too hard might provoke them into using something like a Heart of Reversal, and that would be a massive headache.”

Chen Gui’s words made Xu Shen even more wary of Qu Zhixing. His killing intent deepened as well. He’s like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. But Xu Shen was also surprised that even the formidable Capital University seemed somewhat helpless against the Moon Cult. Just how strong is the Moon Cult?

“Young friend, have you encountered someone from the Moon Cult?” Chen Gui asked.

“Not here. I encountered one where I used to stay. He walked around the city, and no one recognized him,” Xu Shen replied, shaking his head.

“I see,” Chen Gui said knowingly. “But it’s likely not that no one recognized him. Someone was probably watching him in secret.”

“Unless we can be certain they aren’t carrying a Heart of Reversal, we won’t risk provoking them.”

“At least, Xia Nation currently has no way to stop the spread of a Heart of Reversal.”

Xu Shen’s eyes narrowed slightly. Now he understood. The energy fluctuation he sensed after Qu Zhixing left earlier must have been one of the university’s hidden experts noticing him.

“As for inside our university,” Chen Gui suddenly muttered to himself, “forget the Moon Cult, even if Qu Lin himself came, he wouldn’t leave.” Qu Lin was presumably a high-ranking figure in the Moon Cult.

“That’s why nobody usually keeps watch inside the school. They simply don’t dare to do anything here…”

Xu Shen looked at the old man, remaining silent.

Was he hinting at something?

Or had the university’s hidden experts witnessed his entire encounter with Qu Zhixing?

“The university is a good place,” Chen Gui said, looking kindly at Xu Shen. “We educate and nurture talent, all for the sake of Xia Nation. We never concern ourselves with an individual’s secrets.”

“After all… everyone has secrets.” Chen Gui smiled.

The implication was crystal clear.

“Thank you, Old Master,” Xu Shen said after a long silence, his voice slightly hoarse.

The old man laughed heartily.

“No need for thanks! We are all people of Xia Nation, and you represent the future path of rune engraving.”

“Come, let me take you to complete your onboarding.”