A Fallen Genius?

A Fallen Genius?

"Mom! What happened?"

As soon as Mu Xi returned home, she immediately sought out her mother, Yuan Bao'er. Her eyes were red-rimmed and unfocused, and she was clearly in an extremely unstable state. Of course—after learning something like that, how could she possibly remain calm?

Something earth-shaking had happened at Eastsea Academy today. Nearly every student was discussing it, and Mu Xi had heard about it as well.

What shocked her even more was that the center of the discussion was none other than Herta, her roommate and also her younger sister.

"Why did my sister withdraw from Eastsea Academy?"

Mu Xi's voice was nearly hoarse. She had always just been a little girl who loved forging and had never cared much about all that useless news from the outside world.

After the changes in her family, she had suddenly gained an adorable little sister. This sister suited her perfectly—she was highly talented and deeply interested in forging. Mu Xi even often consulted her little sister about certain forging questions.

Mu Xi had thought such days would continue forever. Who could have known that a problem she had never even considered would arrive so quickly?

News of Herta leaving Eastsea Academy had practically spread throughout the entire school. Mu Xi might even have been the last person to learn of it, since Ouyang Zixin was the one who told her. She had hurried home to ask her father and mother what had happened and why her sister was leaving.

"Huh? Where... where did my sister go?"

Yet inside the house, aside from her mother, there was no sign at all of either her father or Herta. This immediately left Mu Xi's heart hanging in her throat.

"They... have already left." Her mother's words drained the light from Mu Xi's eyes. She collapsed onto the floor like a puppet, continuously muttering to herself.

"My little sister is gone..."

Yuan Bao'er could not help but sigh at the sight. She had been worried this would happen, which was why she had not rushed to tell Mu Xi.

As her mother, Yuan Bao'er naturally understood her daughter's thoughts very clearly. Mu Xi had been a little genius at forging since childhood, and most of the people around her had only flattered her. She had very few true friends.

But after Herta came along, Mu Xi learned to restrain herself and to care about others. She was practically a different person from the proud girl she had once been.

Yuan Bao'er was naturally delighted by such a tremendous change in her daughter. Mu Xi had not only become more mature, but had grown so much as well. Yuan Bao'er truly did not want to disrupt this peace.

However, things could not continue like this—at least, not for Herta.

When Wu Zhangkong, a senior teacher at Eastsea Academy, came for another home visit, Mu Chen and Yuan Bao'er finally learned of Herta's true talent. That was what made them resolve to make this choice.

Only three months had passed since Eastsea Academy began. Some ordinary students had not even become familiar with the academy's rules yet. Yet Wu Zhangkong, a teacher who had graduated from Shrek Academy, actually said that he had nothing left to teach Herta.

Mu Chen and Yuan Bao'er were deeply shaken by those words. Especially after hearing that thirty-level Herta had been able to confront sixty-level Wu Zhangkong head-on and had nearly forced out his Battle Armor, they finally realized the issue they had overlooked all along... Could they really let a child as exceptional as Herta grow up like an ordinary child?

The answer was no!

Wu Zhangkong had made it clear to them both that Herta's learning speed far surpassed everyone's imagination. Eastsea Academy no longer held any meaning for her. Even if she remained, she would not be able to learn anything more.

Moreover, given Herta's personality, she would not communicate with those ordinary students, much less make friends with them.

Thus, Wu Zhangkong proposed two options.

First, Wu Zhangkong had once been a student of Shrek Academy, and his status there had not been low. If he wrote a letter to his teachers, Herta could directly enter Shrek Academy now and bypass numerous assessments. Only a top academy like Shrek Academy could support Herta's talent.

Second, Eastsea Academy could directly graduate Herta and give her both a recommendation letter for Shrek Academy and Wu Zhangkong's letter. However, since Shrek Academy's enrollment would be in three years, Herta would have to come to Red Mountain Academy to collect the letters then. If possible, she could also help promote the academy... During these two years, Herta could freely do whatever she wanted and would have a great deal of freedom.

Should she go directly to Shrek Academy, or develop freely for two years before going? To be honest, Mu Chen and Yuan Bao'er did not dare make such an important decision for Herta on their own!

So when Herta returned home, Mu Chen and Yuan Bao'er discussed it with her privately. In the end, with Herta's own agreement, they chose the second option proposed by Wu Zhangkong.

The reason was naturally quite simple. Although Herta had learned a great deal, the limitations of her Soul Power prevented her from putting many things into practice. So she intended to use this spare time to organize what she had learned.

Of course, that was only secondary.

The main reason was that Herta had mentioned something during her conversation with Mu Chen: Heaven Refinement!

She wanted to first learn the knowledge of Heaven Refinement. Once her Soul Power reached the required level, everything would naturally fall into place. And who was the only person on the Douluo Continent capable of Heaven Refinement?

Naturally, it was Mu Chen's senior brother, the "Saint Craftsman" Mu Chen—the "God Craftsman," Zhen Hua!

Of course, they could not get the priorities mixed up.

During these nearly two and a half years of free time, what Herta mainly wanted to do was conduct her own research and improve her Soul Power. Learning Heaven Refinement... was only something extra, after all. It was simply the icing on the cake!

Mu Chen was stunned by Herta's idea. He had not even figured out Heaven Refinement himself, yet this little girl planned to learn it all within two years? But with her talent, she really might be able to do it!

"Fine. For this child's future, I'll take her to see my senior brother!" Mu Chen said.

That was how it happened. Herta had not withdrawn from Eastsea Academy—she had graduated directly. She was now on her way to study Heaven Refinement under the God Craftsman, Zhen Hua!

Mu Xi was dumbfounded after hearing this. This truly had to be the fastest graduation in history—graduating directly after only three months of enrollment!

"So the gap between my sister and me... has unknowingly become this huge?" When Mu Xi had been with Herta at Eastsea Academy, she had barely ever seen her take things seriously. After truly realizing this, Mu Xi could not recover for a while.

But clearly, she had suffered an incredibly powerful shock.

"Xiao Xi..."

Seeing her daughter's dejected expression, Yuan Bao'er immediately embraced her.

She understood her daughter's feelings as well. Beneath the brilliance of a true genius, Mu Xi's so-called talent was destined to fall...

Yuan Bao'er could not help sighing. She would need to comfort Mu Xi more in the future, or this might truly leave a shadow over her for the rest of her life!

I'll post an update later. I'm sure quite a few readers will be interested.

It won't be an extra chapter, but it'll be more or less the same.