Humble, Low-Profile, Exemplary Youth
Nobody in Advancement Hall noticed the absence of the new “piece of turd” disciple. Lu Deyi, who couldn’t hide his excitement, couldn’t wait and cleared his throat to elucidate, “I called all of you here for a joyous occasion. It has been twenty years – I suppose you’ve heard about it from each other – since one of our Heaven Stage disciples has been able to break a formation tablet! Whoever it was amongst you who broke it can stop hiding and step up.”
Reactions were varied. While everyone looked to each other, Luo Feilong and Ji Wenkai scoured their fellow disciples for the prey they needed to eliminate. By the time the voices died down, no hands had been raised, and nobody stepped forward.
Greater Heaven Caster Lu’s lips turned down. “Is nobody going to admit they passed the test? This is nothing to be shy about; you should be proud of yourself. Don’t worry about a thing and step out.”
After nearly fifteen minutes of anxiety and silence, Greater Heaven Caster Lu gave in and declared, “Why are you so shy? We only have one Greater Heaven Stage disciple at this moment. As long as you own up, I will do everything in my power to ensure you are the next Greater Heaven Stage disciple.”
After another round of waiting, Greater Heaven Caster Lu sneaked a gander Luo Feilong and Ji Wenkai’s way. It was no time for him to be turning a blind eye as he usually did. “If you’re afraid others may be jealous or jeopardise your wellbeing, you have my guarantee that nobody will dare to harbour ill-will toward you.”
Luo Feilong and Ji Wenkai avoided making eye contact with Greater Heaven Caster Lu in case he saw through them. Nevertheless, their eyes darted around constantly.
“Bloody show yourself, you diva. I’d have raised my hand already if it was me.”
“What are you, a mistress? This is annoying me. That’s almost another fifteen minutes of my day wasted.”
Come on, come on, the next tournament is around the corner now. We need you. Show yourself, Greater Heaven Caster Lu silently prayed. “If you’re a shy young man or maiden, I won’t force you to reveal yourself. I will leave the formation tablets there. Nobody aside from yourself will be able to go near them. You can continue attempting to break the remaining two. If you run into any obstacles, feel free to visit me in private. I will be more than happy to offer you’re a hand. If you want to maintain a low profile, you can also keep to yourself. You just need to let us Greater Heaven Stage casters know, all right?”
Under the assumption that the successful individual was merely someone not vying for fame or gains, Greater Heaven Caster Lu saw the mysterious individual in an even better light.
Since nobody owned up, Greater Heaven Caster Lu dismissed them. He closely watched them leave to try and identify the virtuous youth. How that worked out was self-explanatory.
***
Mu Yu “enthusiastically” raised his hand and queried, “Heaven Caster Song, what happens if the eight trigrams is missing one horizontal stroke and is two vertical strokes short?”
“You will produce different results or create anomalies if not run into trouble. It’s imperative that you draw the eight trigrams precisely…”
Mu Yu’s cheeks puffed up as he tried to resist a yawn.
“Who do you reckon it was?” Cheng Zhuo asked when Mu Yu returned to their room.
“What are you on about?”
“Forget it. You wouldn’t know many faces since you’re new. Anyway, I’m still shocked a Heaven Stage disciple passed a formation tablet’s test. Even those outside of our sect are in uproar over it. Everyone is trying to find out who it was, but they really don’t like being in the spotlight or something. If it was me, I’d roll out red carpet to walk on. Props to whoever it was because I sure couldn’t hold it in,” shared Cheng Zhuo, assuming Mu Yu was present at the meeting.
“Somebody passed a formation tablet’s test?” Mu Yu yawned. As a thought surfaced, he touched his chin and pondered, Was it me? I didn’t kill the level six kitten, though. I guess I did pass, strictly speaking. Is it really me?
“You see how crazy it was this afternoon? Greater Heaven Caster Lu looked as if he was pleading them to own up.”
Mu Yu shrugged it off with a smile.
Mu Yu had plenty of free time to enjoy strolls around all of Formation Sect’s valleys and whatnot during Song Qingyu’s business trip. Everyone was still discussing the mysterious individual’s identity. Greater Heaven Caster Lu was so anxious that he never left his place during the day in case the individual paid him a visit. At night, he’d hide in Advancement Hall to see if they’d show up. Wait and wait. Five days later, only thin air visited.
Greater Heaven Caster Lu could’ve forced every disciple to approach the formation tablet, yes. Howbeit, he didn’t want to resort to it for he was concerned the disciple had their own reasons for concealing themselves.
Mu Yu eventually figured out it was him from the bits and pieces of information floating around. He was the only one who was amused.
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter
