Chapter 46: Spirit Pagoda

“I apologize for my tardiness, Director Xu.”

Lin Shiru nodded, then introduced, “This is Ye Xuan, the student I’ve brought along this time.”

Xu Younian looked at Ye Xuan in surprise. Lin Shiru had contacted Cangzhou University before coming here. He had been very curious because of that. He did not know what sort of God-given talent Ye Xuan had that Lin Shiru would be willing to be pay such a huge price, going as far as to personally bring Ye Xuan to Cangzhou so he could gain experience.

“Is he really an apprentice?”

Xu Younian gave Ye Xuan a once-over, and he could tell that Ye Xuan was truly just an apprentice-level Beast Tamer, just as Lin Shiru had mentioned. Low-level Beast Tamer Apprentices did not have enough control over the waves of the Mind Energy. On the other hand, High-level Beast Tamers could immediately get a sense of someone’s level just by coming into contact with them.

But just as he was about to say something, his expression morphed and he turned to look out at the distant Hulu Valley.

“You’re early, but you’ve come at a good moment. You picked the right moment to arrive, Vice Dean Lin.”

At the sound of this, a sliver of curiosity crept onto Lin Shiru’s countenance.

She turned and looked towards Hulu Valley.

Instantly, she realized that the Spirit Secret Realm was about to open.

“What a coincidence. This is a great omen.”

She glanced at Ye Xuan who was beside her.

“Where do these two people come from?”

“I don’t know, but judging from what Director Xu said, they don’t seem to be from Cangzhou University like we do.”

At the same time, the students on scene deduced a few things from Xu Younian and Lin Shiru’s scant words. This shocked them a lot, since they had not expected that someone from another university would be entering the Spirit Secret Realm with them.

“Never mind the fact that he’s not from Cangzhou University, don’t you recognize who the lady is? She’s the current Vice Dean of Jiangzhou University, the daughter of the university’s founder, the supreme genius from a few years ago.”

“If it weren’t for that batch of geniuses, Jiangzhou University would have fallen into decline. She was the one who carried the mantle, the one leading Jiangzhou University. It wouldn’t be impossible for her to place within the Top 10 in the Hundred Academy League.”

Abruptly, all of the Cangzhou University students recognized Lin Shiru.

“That’s her?”

Shock colored the expressions of the other students the moment they heard this.

The country of Xia was one of sprawling lands and an abundance of resources; they had no lack of talented people, but the Hundred Academy League a few years back had been the one that had garnered the most attention. That year, Lin Shiru had appeared and her name spread through all of Xia.

A lot of people had even remarked that Lin Shiru might have really been able to lead Jiangzhou University all by herself and placed within Top 10 of the Hundred Academy League, were it not for the fact that someone had intentionally targeted her at that time.

“Who’s the person beside her? He seems pretty young. Could he be a Jiangzhou University student?”

“Probably. Tsk, tsk. He must really be talented for him to have caught Lin Shiru’s eye and come to gain experience here at Cangzhou.”

After they found out who Lin Shiru was, a lot of the students cast their gaze to Ye Xuan, the one standing beside Lin Shiru.

Lin Shiru was simply too powerful. Plus, with her identity revealed, she was definitely not somebody they could interact with.

But the one beside Lin Shiru, Ye Xuan, was different.

Ye Xuan must be the genius of all geniuses if he was able to stand beside Lin Shiru. They might even end up running into someone like this in the Hundred Academy League sometime in the future.

Doong!

Just then, the space outside Hulu Valley up ahead warped, and an enormous, silverish white door appeared out of nowhere along with that.

“The Spirit Secret Realm is opening!”

In an instant, everyone’s gaze fell upon the door.

“Let’s go together, Vice Dean Lin.”

Xu Younian looked at Lin Shiru.

“After you, Director Xu,” Lin Shiru said with a calm glint to her eyes.

“Just as well.”

Xu Younian nodded. He stopped standing on courtesy and immediately waved a hand, leading a group of instructors as well as students from both Cangzhou University and its affiliated high school, and they walked through the silver-white door. But many of these teachers and students turned back after they walked into the Spirit Secret Realm, and they looked at Lin Shiru and Ye Xuan.

“How is it? Can you feel the immense pressure?” Lin Shiru looked to the side, at Ye Xuan, as she asked.

“A little.”

Ye Xuan nodded. “This makes me feel like an exotic animal being surrounded by a watchful crowd.”

“Best get used to it.”

Lin Shiru smiled. “There will be many such occurrences in the future. Especially if you think about how you will take part in the Hundred Academy League some day; it will be a much larger crowd when that happens.”

“Or… You could imagine yourself as a lion and think of all the people looking at you as your subjects.”

“A lion?” Ye Xuan was silent with shock.

He thought back to the golden lion at Wanshan University, the one that belonged to the tutor in charge of recruiting students. He thought the lion had had quite the imposing aura. As the pair waited, the thousands or so teachers and students of Cangzhou University very quickly entered the Spirit Secret Realm.

After all of them went in, Lin Shiru brought Ye Xuan along and also stepped into the Spirit Secret Realm, neither hurriedly nor languidly.

Before they entered the Spirit Secret Realm, Lin Shiru told him the following,

“Of the hundred academies, Cangzhou University ranks ninth, and it’s not stable so they might fall to tenth place in the next league, which is why quite a few of them are a little wary of us.

“Aside from that, Jiangzhou University and Cangzhou University caught up in several other issues in past Hundred Academy Leagues, so the resentment has built up quite a bit.

“The one earlier, the one with the surname Xu, had been beaten up quite a few times by my brother before. That said, I don’t think he’s the kind to hold grudges.

“And another thing: this is still Cangzhou University’s territory, after all. Our objective this time is to ensure you get the best resources that will allow your Tyrannosaurus to advance to the next level. As such, if there’s no one stirring any trouble for us, we’ll be able to keep a low profile.”

Huh?

Ye Xuan immediately raised a brow when he heard her.

He suddenly understood why just now, the man referred to as Director Xu, had been so courteous when he was speaking to them.

And despite that, he still felt a sense of distance from the man.

“I understand,” Ye Xuan said with a solemn nod of his head after he picked up on the hidden meaning to Lin Shiru’s words.

At this time, as the two of them stepped through the silver-white door in the space, a large and looming black pagoda suddenly appeared right before their eyes. At the same time, a horde of Cangzhou University students stood in front of this tower as well.

“My apologies, Vice Dean Lin,” Xu Younian said. When he saw Lin Shiru making her way into the Spirit Secret Realm, he walked up to her, feeling a little awkward.

“I really didn’t expect that you would be here so early, so my students had already formed a queue before they even got here.

“Which is why I can only ask you to let our students enter the Spirit Pagoda in order, and then let your students enter after mine already have.”

“Of course, that’s how it should be. This secret realm belongs to Cangzhou University, so it’s only natural that your students would enter first,” Lin Shiru said with a nod, “if the spirit realm were at Jiangzhou University, the reverse would be true as well.”

Xu Younian raised a brow. He said nothing else.

To him, Lin Shiru was nothing more than a little girl, so he had no intentions to antagonize her. Of course, that did not mean he would become friends with her either.

As for the competition between the universities…

From his perspective, it was a matter of ability.

If it worked, great. If not, then that was it.