A Dean's Gift

Seeing the old man's reaction, Lin Ming felt much more at ease, and the "uncertain" look of surprise on his face instantly turned into heartfelt excitement and respect.

Quickly breaking free from Elder Yao's grasp and straightening his somewhat disheveled robes, Lin Ming immediately performed a respectful bow to Mang Tianchi, a student greeting his teacher, his voice clear and resonant:

"Student Lin Ming greets Your Headmaster!"

"Haha! Quickly... get up! No need for formalities, no need for formalities!"

Upon confirming Lin Ming's identity, Mang Tianchi's expression instantly shifted from gloomy to cheerful, faster than flipping through a book!

He flashed to Lin Ming's side and personally helped Lin Ming up as he bowed. He was so excited that he almost danced with joy, and his previous dissatisfaction had long been forgotten.

He helped Lin Ming up, then patted Lin Ming's shoulder forcefully, his old eyes narrowing into slits with laughter, looking at Lin Ming as if he were a rare treasure.

"Lin... Lin Ming, right! Good! Good! Hahaha! To reach the peak of the Five-Star Dou Ancestor at such a young age, and to come to the edge of this Void Lightning Pool to cultivate, you have courage! You have guts! It seems that our Jia Nan Academy has finally cultivated a decent young man! Not bad! Really not bad!"

At this moment, Mang Tianchi was praising Lin Ming in rapid succession, as if he had completely forgotten that just a few seconds ago, he had been disdainfully criticizing Lin Ming, saying, "With this little strength, you dare to come to the Void Lightning Pool?"

The speed of her change of expression and the naturalness of her shift in attitude left Xiao Yi Xian and Elder Yao looking at each other, somewhat bewildered and unsure whether to laugh or cry.

This legendary Dean of the Jia Nan Academy, the Half Sage powerhouse Mang Tianchi, is indeed... worthy of his reputation, with a rather... unique personality.

To encounter students from his own academy in the Void Space, especially outside the perilous Void Lightning Pool, was undoubtedly a source of immense joy for Mang Tianchi.

Moreover, this student is so young, yet he has already reached the peak of the Five-Star Dou Ancestor level. Such talent and strength would definitely place him among the core disciples of the top forces in the Middle Continent. This makes him, as the Dean, feel extremely proud and gratified.

However, his joy didn't last long. When his gaze fell on Elder Yao beside him, the frustration he felt from being chased by the black lightning, and the fear he felt seeing his junior in danger, instantly turned into anger, which he unleashed on Elder Yao.

He glared at Elder Yao bristling, and demanded, "What kind of elder are you?! How could you let Lin Ming come to such a dangerous place? Is this Void Lightning Pool a joke? You saw the power of that black lightning just now. If something goes wrong, can you take responsibility? This is utter nonsense!"

In his mind, Elder Yao was the strongest person here, Peak Nine-Revolution Dou Venerate, only one step away from becoming Half Sage. He must be Lin Ming's elder. Bringing such an outstanding junior to cultivate in such a dangerous place was, in his opinion, an extremely irresponsible act!

Seeing that the Dean had misunderstood and was directly targeting Elder Yao, Lin Ming smiled wryly and quickly stepped forward, cupping his hands in explanation. "Dean, you've misunderstood. This isn't Elder Yao's fault. I insisted on coming here myself. Elder Yao didn't know about the existence of this Void Lightning Pool before. It was only after I asked Elder Zhu Li, the Third Elder Zhu Li of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, that he told me about this place and had Big Brother Hei Qing bring us here."

"The Ancient Void Dragon Clan the Void? The Third Elder Zhu Li?"

Upon hearing this, Mang Tianchi's anger instantly froze, turning into deep astonishment.

He knew all too well how arrogant and xenophobic the Ancient Void Dragon were. Even with his Half Sage level strength, he had struggled to deal with them back then and wasn't easily convinced. Yet Lin Ming, a Five-Star Dou Ancestor, had actually managed to get the powerful Third Elder of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan to personally inform him of such a hidden place?

As if specifically to confirm the truth of Lin Ming's words, the instant he finished speaking—

"Roar!"

A powerful dragon roar came from afar, booming like thunder.

Immediately afterward, a massive figure, as thick as an iron tower, tore through the void, rushing towards them with a rapid whooshing sound. Before the figure even arrived, a booming voice, filled with obvious anxiety, rang out.

"Lin Ming! Are you alright?! There was such a commotion in the Thunder Pool just now, are you hurt?!"

The newcomer was none other than Hei Qing! He was guarding outside on the orders of Elder Zhu Li. The terrifying energy fluctuations caused by the black lightning eruption deep within the Thunder Pool just now almost terrified him.

He clearly remembered the Third Elder's order—to ensure Lin Ming's safety at all costs! If something happened to Lin Ming while he was protecting him, not to mention the severe punishment he would receive upon returning to Dragon Island, just thinking about the wrath that the future His Majesty the Dragon Emperor Zi Yan might feel would make Hei Qing feel that his future as a dragon was bleak! So as soon as he sensed the abnormality, he rushed over at top speed.

The pure and incomparable roar of the Ancient Void Dragon, imbued with Spatial Fluctuations, along with Hei Qing's undisguised concern, struck Mang Tianchi's heart like the most powerful evidence, shattering his last shred of doubt.

He originally thought that Lin Ming's ability to reach the Five-Star Dou Ancestor at such a young age was already a huge overestimation of the academy's teaching level, enough to make him, the Dean, proud.

But now he realized that he had seriously underestimated this student!

For an elder of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan to personally instruct and dispatch a powerful adult ancient dragon to escort him, such a level of respect is something even Mang Tianchi himself, in his honest opinion, could not achieve!

"Just who is this kid? What exactly did he do at the academy?" Mang Tianchi's heart was filled with shock and disbelief. His gaze towards Lin Ming shifted from initial delight to deep astonishment and inquiry, ultimately culminating in a complex sigh that only he could hear, "Alas, the younger generation is truly formidable. This old man is almost losing face..."

Seeing Hei Qing arrive, Lin Ming gave him a reassuring look and smiled, "Big Brother Hei Qing, don't worry, we're fine. We were just disturbed by some commotion deep in the Thunder Pool and came out early."

Hearing Lin Ming say that he was alright, Hei Qing's tense nerves finally relaxed. He let out a long sigh of relief, patted his chest with his huge hand, and looked like he was still shaken. "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright! You scared me to death!"

Seeing that Hei Qing didn't say anything more, seemingly just worried about his safety, Lin Ming felt a warmth in his heart. He stopped talking to him and continued explaining to Mang Tianchi.

"Dean, the reason I came to this Void Lightning Pool is because I had some grudges with the Magic Flame Valley in the Black Corner Region. Later, I killed the Old Ghost Di Mo and found a Puppet -making method in his collection. I tried to make a few Puppet and wanted to find a place with abundant thunder power to temper them and enhance their strength. Later, by chance, I came to East Dragon Island and Elder Zhu Li. He then told me the location of this Void Lightning Pool and kindly asked Big Brother Hei Qing to lead us here."

Lin Ming's brief account was half true and half false. It explained the source (the Old Ghost Di Mo), clarified the purpose (tempering the Puppet), and even brought up the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, which made perfect sense.

"The Earth Demon Old Ghost? Demon Flame Valley?" Upon hearing these names, Mang Tianchi's eyes flashed with understanding, further confirming Lin Ming's identity as a student of Canaan Academy.

That Old Ghost Di Mo was already a powerful figure in the Black Corner Region back when he was still in the academy, but his strength... in Mang Tianchi's eyes, was nothing special.

Back then, that Old Ghost thought he was on equal footing with him, but he was too lazy to bother with him and let the other party amuse himself. He never expected that he would eventually be defeated by a student from his own academy, which made Mang Tianchi feel quite relieved.

Having learned the whole story and realized that it was indeed his own student who "took the initiative to cause trouble," rather than Elder Yao being "irresponsible," Mang Tianchi's expression softened considerably when he looked at Elder Yao, and he even nodded with a hint of apology.

Then, his gaze refocused on Lin Ming, and he looked him up and down carefully with a satisfied expression.

Upon closer inspection, he immediately noticed the lingering, not-yet-completely-subdued aura of thunder surrounding Lin Ming. Recalling the moment he helped Lin Ming up, the unique sensation he felt when his hand touched Lin Ming's arm wasn't purely supported by Dou Qi, but rather contained astonishing resilience and power...

A glint flashed in Mang Tianchi's eyes, as if he had thought of something. With a mixture of uncertainty and anticipation, he asked, "Lin Ming, you... you kid, did you cultivate that body-refining technique from the academy's Library Pavilion —the <Purple Lightning Radiant Body Technique>?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ming's heart stirred slightly. He hadn't expected the Dean to have such keen insight, able to deduce this from such subtle details. He had no reason to hide it, and immediately nodded frankly, admitting, "Dean, you are wise. I have indeed cultivated the <Purple Lightning Radiant Body Technique>. It was thanks to it that I dared to attempt to Thunder Induction to temper my body."

"Haha! Just as I expected! Just as I thought!"

Upon receiving Lin Ming's affirmative reply, Mang Tianchi clapped his hands and laughed heartily, his laughter filled with joy and an indescribable sense of destiny.

"Unbelievable! Back then, on a whim, I dissected an ancient body-refining Cultivation Method, named the introductory basics 'Purple Lightning Radiant Body Technique,' and placed it in the academy's Library Pavilion. I intended to leave it to someone with the right fate to try their luck and see if they could use it to lay a foundation for their physical body. I never imagined that you would actually obtain it by such a coincidence, and even cultivate it to the point where you can use lightning to temper your body! What's even more coincidental is that you encountered me outside this Void Lightning Pool!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, looking at Lin Ming as if he were looking at a treasure he had unintentionally buried, which was now shining brightly.

"Good! Good lad! Since we have such a connection, and you are a student of my academy, if I don't give you a decent gift for our first meeting, wouldn't it make those old folks laugh their heads off and say that I, Mang Tianchi, am stingy and can't even give my best student a little something?"

Before he finished speaking, Mang Tianchi flipped his hand, and a scroll that was entirely colorful and had fine silver Lightning Pattern wrapped around its surface appeared in his hand. The moment the scroll appeared, the surrounding void seemed to tremble slightly, accompanied by a faint rumble of thunder.

Mang Tianchi generously shoved the scroll into Lin Ming's hand, loudly proclaiming, "Take this! It's my little gift to you!"