Kaius's gaze shifted between Lanchi and the statue.
Even the priests of the Rebirth Church knew that the Goddess of Fate would never make such an obscene gesture as raising her middle finger.
Yet the person who had carved this thing seemed to be cursing the Rebirth Church and the Nirvana Branch on behalf of the Goddess!
Kaius lightly tapped his fingers on the table, making a "tap, tap" sound, as if weighing something—or perhaps making a judgment.
Lanchi stood calmly where he was, his face expressionless. Only the amusement flickering in his eyes gave anything away.
Kaius's brows were tightly furrowed, filled with confusion. Such complicated emotions were extremely rare on his usually cold, hard face.
It was only when Kaius observed the young man up close that he confirmed it: this person was just as abstract as his work. It was completely impossible to tell whether his thoughts were simple or unfathomably deep.
After hesitating for a moment, Kaius stared at the statue. In the end, he still could not bear to discard it as a failed work, and placed it with the passing pieces.
He owned all the passing works.
Originally, he had planned to use them for internal display.
But now, he decided to keep Lanchi's stone sculpture in his collection.
This young man would surely become the most outstanding sculptor in the Protos Empire.
By then, the value of this work would also become impossible to estimate.
He was certain that this young man's artistic attainments far exceeded his imagination, and that his talent was as excellent as his written-test results.
"You're very good."
Kaius praised him and slowly nodded. "You passed."
Lanchi smiled faintly. He knew Kaius would not bear to destroy this piece.
He then stepped down from the platform and returned to