"Mm, I looked into him." Mu Zhuoyun admitted it, then continued, "His background is clean. He'd make a good son-in-law."
"...Dad, what are you talking about?"
A faint blush flashed across Mu Ning Xue's face, and her gaze drifted slightly.
"Heh heh."
Mu Zhuoyun shook his head with a smile and did not pursue the matter. Instead, he changed the subject. "His talent is excellent. He has the Ice Element, and he also possesses an Innate Spirit Seed."
"With his help, you'll be able to establish yourself firmly within the Mu Clan."
The Mu Family of Bocheng seemed like a colossal force, but before the Mu Clan, they were no different from ordinary "lower-class people."
Originally, his wife had borne the burden of their branch. But fate was unpredictable; after his wife passed away, that responsibility fell upon his daughter.
At times, Mu Zhuoyun hated himself as well.
He was a grown man, yet he had let his wife and daughter shoulder such heavy burdens one after another.
"Dad, didn't you adopt Yu Ang?" Mu Ning Xue asked, her tone inexplicable.
No one wanted their parents to share another portion of their "love" with someone else. Though she was cold by nature, she was no exception.
"Yu Ang?"
"He isn't worthy of the stage. I adopted him only to forge a useful blade for you."
Mu Zhuoyun's voice was exceedingly cold.
Mu Yu Ang?
Calling him an adopted son sounded nice, but in reality, Mu Zhuoyun regarded him only as a disposable chess piece.
Everything he did was centered around "paving the way for Mu Ning Xue."
"So, is that how you see Qin Yuan too?"
"He's different."
"Why?"
"You like him very much. Dad can see that." Mu Zhuoyun spoke calmly.
First, his daughter Mu Ning Xue had a very favorable impression of Qin Yuan.
Second, Qin Yuan had never provoked him, and back then, he had been very sensible in sending Mu Ning Xue back.
Lastly, Qin Yuan's talent was better than Yu Ang's.
With all three factors combined, Mu Zhuoyun had a rather good impression of Qin Yuan and was quite willing to entrust Mu Ning Xue to him.
Of course, as an old father, he still felt a tiny bit instinctively displeased.
What displeased him was that Qin Yuan had not only whisked away Mu Ning Xue, but was also somewhat fickle-hearted.
"Qin Yuan doesn't like others scheming against him," Mu Ning Xue said.
She was happy to receive her father's approval.
However, she understood Qin Yuan very well. He hated it when people went out of their way to scheme against him and set traps for him.
She did not want Mu Zhuoyun's various calculations to fall upon Qin Yuan. That would cause unnecessary trouble and might even make Qin Yuan dislike him...
Unexpectedly, Mu Zhuoyun did not refute her. Instead, he nodded. "Geniuses all have their pride. They don't like others telling them what to do. Dad understands that."
Having lived for so many years, he naturally possessed some discernment.
His daughter and Qin Yuan had such a good relationship now. So long as nothing unexpected happened, they would inevitably end up together in the future.
Since they would end up together, Qin Yuan would certainly help Mu Ning Xue.
Wasn't that exactly what he wanted?
So rather than meddling for no reason, why not quietly let go and allow the two of them to develop naturally, letting everything proceed smoothly?
"Mm..."
Mu Ning Xue gave a soft hum, as if she were smiling, yet perhaps not.
At the training ground.
The magic assessment was conducted through random selection. Coincidentally, the first person drawn by the examiner was Qin Yuan.
"Qin Yuan."
The bald examiner called out.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Qin Yuan stepped out from the crowd. The sunlight framed his face, adding a touch of warmth to his already handsome features.
The girls were instantly entranced.
Ever since Qin Yuan had arrived at Tianlan Magic High School, some gossip-loving girls had dubbed him the "school heartthrob."
Whether from his own class, other classes, or even other grades, there were girls who admired Qin Yuan everywhere.
"Damn it, Old Qin's character design is just a tiny bit short of catching up to mine."
Mo Fan muttered to himself from within the crowd.
As the World's Most Handsome, the fact that someone could threaten him in this regard was enough to prove just how impressive that person's "character design" was.
"Brother Fan, you're so narcissistic."
Zhang Xiaohou overheard Mo Fan's muttering and could not help teasing him.
"Houzi, this is called confidence."
"This confidence... is a little blind."
"Holy crap, Houzi, you actually dare talk back to your Brother Fan now?"
"..."
While the two whispered among themselves, Qin Yuan had already placed both hands on the Star Sense Stone on the platform.
"Buzz!"
The light grew increasingly intense. The ice blue radiance of the Spirit Seed seemed to freeze the entire Star Sense Stone, spreading outward from within and appearing ready to overflow.
"Th-this light!"
Tang Yue, who had been quietly watching Qin Yuan all along, immediately revealed an incredulous expression.
Then Mu Zhuoyun, the principal, the School Board Members, and the others all widened their eyes, staring at the scene in shock.
"The light... the light is overflowing!"
Xue Musheng cried out.
Having taught for many years, how could he not know what this represented?
"S!"
The examiner gave the answer.
Qin Yuan's Ice Element Star Dust Intensity was at the highest S-Class.
However, only a small number of people, including Tang Yue, could see that Qin Yuan's Ice Element Star Dust Intensity already showed signs of surpassing S-Class.
Beyond S-Class.
That meant Qin Yuan's Ice Element had remained at Elementary Level One for a long time and was now advancing toward the strength of Elementary Level Two.
"Classmate Qin Yuan, would you like to undergo the magic release test?" the examiner in charge of the assessment asked proactively.
The others also looked at Qin Yuan curiously.
After all, the intensity of one's magic Star Dust was not equivalent to magic release. Only successfully releasing magic qualified one as a true genius.
"Of course."
Qin Yuan's expression was extremely calm, his gaze tranquil.
The examiner nodded, then cleared a space for Qin Yuan and placed a target specifically used for testing at the far end.
Under everyone's gaze, Qin Yuan kept one hand in his pocket while letting the other hang casually at his side, putting on quite a show.
"Ice Vine."
As Qin Yuan's voice fell, his lowered right hand moved in an exceptionally practiced gesture.
Ice blue chill spread outward from Qin Yuan's center, sweeping before the hundreds of people present. The bone-piercing cold made everyone's hearts shudder.
Seven star seeds linked together with remarkable fluidity, the entire process taking no more than a second.
Ice blue frost, uttermost cold.
"Freeze."
Qin Yuan flicked his hand, and the ice blue chill traced a path across the field before landing precisely upon the humanoid target ahead.
"Crack, crack~"
In only a brief moment, the humanoid target was covered in a thick layer of ice blue solid ice. Its surface was incomparably smooth, as though starlight flowed across it.
This was Ice Vine at Elementary Level One.
Especially after Qin Yuan broke through to Elementary Level Two, the amplification that the extreme-cold Spirit Seed provided to Ice Element magic had risen to twofold, doubling its power.
"Twofold amplification. It's stronger now."
Qin Yuan murmured, then turned around.
He still had one hand in his pocket, and his face still bore that indescribable ease and laziness.
Everyone stared at the frozen humanoid target in shock. One after another, they stood dumbfounded, seemingly unable to believe what had happened before their eyes.
They had only just recovered from Qin Yuan's Star Sense Stone test, yet before even half a minute had passed, they were once again stunned by his magic release.
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