Assessment Shocks Everyone, Magic Unleashed

"Yes, I did some digging." Mu Zhuoyun admitted, then continued, "His background is clean. He's a good candidate for a son-in-law."

"...Dad, what are you saying?"

A faint, barely noticeable blush flickered across Mu Ning Xue's face, her gaze drifting slightly.

"Heh."

Mu Zhuoyun shook his head with a smile, not pressing further. Instead, he shifted the topic, saying, "His talent is quite good. Ice element, and also an Innate Spirit Seed."

"If you gain his help, you'll be able to stand firm within the Mu Clan."

The Mu Family of Bocheng might seem like a behemoth, but in truth, before the Mu Clan, they were no different from ordinary 'lower-class' people.

His branch had once been carried by his wife's strength. But alas, the world was unpredictable. After his wife passed away, that burden fell onto his daughter's shoulders.

Sometimes, Mu Zhuoyun hated himself for it.

A grown man like him, yet he had let his wife and daughter shoulder such heavy responsibilities one after another.

"Dad, didn't you adopt Yu Ang?" Mu Ning Xue's voice carried an odd tone.

No one wanted their parents to split a portion of their 'love' for others. Cold as her nature was, she was no exception.

"Yu Ang?"

"He's not fit for any real stage. I adopted him only to forge a sharp blade for you."

Mu Zhuoyun's voice was very cold.

Mu Yu Ang? It sounded nice to call him an adopted son, but in truth, he treated him as nothing more than a disposable pawn.

Everything he did was centered on 'paving the way for Mu Ning Xue.'

"So, is that how you see Qin Yuan too?"

"He's different."

"Why?"

"You like him a lot. Dad can tell." Mu Zhuoyun said flatly.

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 sensible enough to send Mu Ning Xue back.

Third, Qin Yuan's talent was even better than Yu Ang's.

With these three points, Mu Zhuoyun's impression of Qin Yuan was still quite positive, and he was genuinely willing to entrust Mu Ning Xue to him.

Of course, as an old father, he still felt a bit of instinctive displeasure.

What displeased him was that Qin Yuan had not only taken Mu Ning Xue away but was also a bit of a flirt.

"Qin Yuan doesn't like being schemed against." Mu Ning Xue said.

She was happy to have her father's approval.

But she knew Qin Yuan very well. He absolutely hated people scheming against him or setting traps for him.

She didn't want Mu Zhuoyun's various schemes to land on Qin Yuan's head. That would cause unnecessary trouble, and might even make Qin Yuan resentful...

Unexpectedly, Mu Zhuoyun didn't argue. Instead, he nodded and said, "Geniuses all have pride. They don't like others meddling. Dad knows that."

Having lived so many years, he still had some discernment.

Given how close his daughter and Qin Yuan were now, as long as nothing unexpected happened, they would inevitably end up together.

Since they would end up together, then Qin Yuan would surely help Mu Ning Xue.

Wasn't that exactly what he wanted?

So, rather than butting in and causing trouble for no reason, it was better to silently let go, let the two develop on their own, and let everything go smoothly.

"Mm..."

Mu Ning Xue let out a soft hum, as if smiling, and as if not.

On the training ground.

The magic assessment was conducted by random draw. As luck would have it, the first name the examiner drew was Qin Yuan.

"Qin Yuan."

The bald examiner called out.

Under the gaze of everyone, Qin Yuan stepped out from the crowd. The sunlight cast a glow on his face, adding a touch of warmth to his already handsome features.

The girls were momentarily mesmerized.

Ever since Qin Yuan arrived at Tianlan Magic High School, some gossip-loving girls had already crowned him the 'school heartthrob.'

Whether in his own class, other classes, or even other grades, there were girls who admired Qin Yuan.

"Damn, Old Qin's looks are just one step away from catching up to mine."

Mo Fan muttered quietly to himself from within the crowd.

As the 'World's Most Handsome', if someone could actually threaten him in this regard, it was enough to prove just how impressive that person's 'modeling' was.

"Brother Fan, you're so narcissistic."

Zhang Xiaohou overheard Mo Fan's muttering and couldn't help but tease him.

"Houzi, this is called confidence."

"This confidence... is a bit blind."

"Ah, come on, Houzi, since when do you talk back to your brother Fan?"

"..."

While the two were whispering, Qin Yuan on stage had already placed both hands on the Star Sense Stone.

"Buzz!"

The light grew increasingly intense, the ice-blue radiance of the spirit seed seeming to freeze the entire Star Sense Stone, spreading from the inside out and covering its surroundings, as if about to overflow.

"Th-this light!"

Tang Yue, who had been quietly watching Qin Yuan, immediately showed an expression of disbelief.

Then, Mu Zhuoyun, the principal, the School Board Member, and others all widened their eyes, stunned by the sight.

"L-light... overflowing!"

Xue Musheng exclaimed.

Having taught for many years, how could he not know what this signified?

"S!"

The examiner gave the verdict.

Qin Yuan's Ice Star Dust Intensity was the highest grade, S-Class.

However, only Tang Yue and a few others could tell that Qin Yuan's Ice Star Dust Intensity was already showing signs of surpassing S-Class.

Above S-Class.

This meant that Qin Yuan's ice magic had remained at Elementary Level One for a long time and was now advancing toward Elementary Level Two.

"Classmate Qin Yuan, would you like to proceed with the magic release test?" the examiner in charge took the initiative to ask.

The others also looked at Qin Yuan with curiosity.

After all, the intensity of magical star dust did not equal the ability to release magic; only successfully casting a spell could truly mark someone as a genius.

"Of course."

Qin Yuan's expression was extremely calm, his gaze steady.

The examiner nodded, then cleared a space for Qin Yuan, where a target specifically used for testing was placed.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Qin Yuan kept one hand in his pocket while the other hung casually at his side, pulling off a perfect pose.

"Ice Vine."

As Qin Yuan's voice fell, his dangling right hand moved in an extremely practiced gesture.

An ice-blue chill spread outward from Qin Yuan's center, sweeping across the hundreds of people present, the biting cold making everyone's hearts tremble.

Seven Star Seeds connected smoothly in a line, the entire process taking no more than a second.

Ice-blue cold, extreme chill.

"Freeze."

Qin Yuan flicked his hand casually, and the ice-blue cold traced an arc across the field, landing precisely on the human-shaped target ahead.

"Crackle, crackle~"

In just a short moment, the human-shaped target was covered in a thick layer of ice-blue solid ice, its surface perfectly smooth, as if starlight was flowing across it.

This was the Elementary Level One Ice Vine.

Especially now that Qin Yuan had broken through to Elementary Level Two, the Extreme Cold Spirit Seed's amplification of ice magic had increased to two times, doubling its power.

"Two times amplification, the power is stronger."

Qin Yuan murmured to himself, then turned around.

He still kept one hand in his pocket, his face carrying the same indescribable ease and laziness.

Everyone stared in shock at the frozen human-shaped target, standing dumbfounded as if they couldn't believe what had just happened.

They had barely recovered from Qin Yuan's Star Sense Stone test, and less than half a minute later, they were stunned again by his magic release.