The Academy Dared Not Investigate, but the Upperclassman Dared to Lie in Wait

Plant Academy, Academic Affairs Office.

Several reports lay spread out for reconciliation, and the room was dead silent.

Eight years old, with thirteen levels of Soul Power.

A One-Ring Soul Master had instantly defeated a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster.

Eight years old, my ass?!

Innate Soul Power of level three, yet he had crossed ten levels in two years.

Were they trying to fool idiots?!

His Martial Soul was supposedly Thunder-Clap Grass, but when he brought it out, it was more vicious than anyone else's.

In actual combat, it directly crushed every plant-type Martial Soul.

A plant type, yet one that wielded lightning.

The instructors, grade director, and vice principal present all turned pale. Although they had long suspected it, now that the evidence was laid before them—

His records had been forged, and so had his identity.

He was no commoner with a useless Martial Soul and no talent. He was fucking pure monster-level talent!

Perhaps there really was a Lin Mo at Nuoding Soul Master Academy, but the one who had entered their Plant Academy definitely was not him!

This was someone Spirit Hall had deliberately planted here.

Only Spirit Hall had the ability to alter official Martial Soul registration records and revise Innate Soul Power information.

But having reasoned this far, no one dared speak of holding anyone accountable, much less monitoring, reporting, or conducting a thorough investigation.

An oppressive silence filled the office.

After a long while, the vice principal swallowed and looked around at everyone present, his voice dry.

"Everyone understands, right?"

No one answered, but everyone knew perfectly well.

Spirit Hall!

It was a colossal force spanning the two great empires, its influence faintly surpassing the imperial families and standing above all sects and academies.

Forget a mere Plant Academy—even the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had to avoid its edge.

The Heaven Dou City Martial Soul Holy Hall was becoming increasingly arrogant, yet even the imperial family had chosen to yield.

Who held the upper hand in this hidden contest was plain to see.

An arm could not twist a thigh.

They had to accept that truth and swallow this loss.

Digging deeper would be seeking death.

If they exposed Lin Mo's identity, nothing might happen openly, but in the shadows, they could only wait for what came next.

Recklessly monitoring or probing him would only ruin things.

"This Lin Mo is an outstanding talent. Ahem, where is he living now?" The vice principal gave a fake cough and looked at the instructors present.

"Uh... Quiet West Garden. He paid for it himself..." The instructor on duty sounded somewhat hesitant.

The vice principal was startled at first, then nodded.

"Return the money to him. This is a student benefit—how can we charge him?"

"Yes... understood, understood." The instructor on duty nodded repeatedly.

"Today's assessment will not be recorded. Change Lin Mo's internal enrollment age to twelve, and do not publicize it."

"No records, no spreading it around, and absolutely no discussion." The vice principal issued a strict order.

"Understood." The instructors present tensed up. They all understood the weight of this matter.

A young instructor could not help asking hesitantly in a low voice:

"Principal, Lin Mo has had some friction with Zhou Hang and those aristocratic children. They probably won't let it go. If it involves the families behind them..."

"Involves them? If you can't even handle this trivial matter, then you can get lost." The vice principal sneered.

"You want to be in charge but don't want responsibility? What kind of perfect job do you think this is?!"

"No matter how impressive those aristocratic children are, they're merely worldly nobles. Do you not understand Spirit Hall's weight, or which matters more?"

"It's just friction and fighting among juniors. Don't blow it out of proportion—handle it properly!"

"Also, use a unified explanation outside: Lin Mo possesses a rare acquired mutated Martial Soul, something seen only once in a century. Everything is reasonable and compliant."

They would forcibly make it reasonable and erase every suspicion.

They would package Spirit Hall's handiwork as a genius mutation the academy had stumbled upon.

That way, they would neither offend Spirit Hall nor fail to protect themselves.

They could also fool the worldly aristocratic families and quell the rumors.

Offend neither side and play dumb before both.

"Then... are we really not going to concern ourselves with this person's identity?" the old director asked cautiously.

"Concern ourselves with what?"

The vice principal shook his head, his tone exceedingly cautious.

"He is from Spirit Hall. Since he is lying low here, he must have his own purpose."

"If he doesn't cause trouble, we absolutely won't go looking for it."

"If he keeps his head down and develops quietly, we'll go with the flow and grant him all normal treatment."

"The Class A spot, cultivation resources, classroom access—give him all of it as usual."

"Also, if he asks for leave to go out, don't ask me. Approve it directly, and don't treat him differently," the vice principal said.

With things said to this extent, if these idiots still did not understand, they could all pack up and leave.

Everyone instantly understood.

Assume his identity and tacitly permit his privileges.

Even though they knew full well he was most likely an undercover agent, they could only support him, flatter him, and pretend to know nothing.

"Remember."

The vice principal's gaze swept across everyone as he issued a stern warning.

"From this day onward, everyone keeps their mouths shut."

"Do not investigate his background, discuss his Martial Soul, or pry into his cultivation."

"If you encounter him on the road, treat him normally. Be respectful, but keep your distance."

"I'll emphasize this once more: whoever leaks word because they can't keep their mouth shut, whoever thinks they're clever enough to probe or provoke him and draws Spirit Hall's wrath—the academy cannot protect them, and it absolutely will not protect them!" The vice principal delivered his final ultimatum.

"Yes!!"

The instructors and directors all bowed together, burying every fear and suspicion deep in their hearts.

Lin Mo was not someone they could afford to provoke.

The meeting ended.

The homeroom teacher of Class A had just left the office building and was considering a solution on his way back.

How could he resolve the previous conflict between Lin Mo and Zhou Hang's group?

The breakthrough had to come from Zhou Hang and the others.

It was impossible to make Lin Mo lower his head, wasn't it?

As he pondered, a student hurried toward him.

"Something terrible has happened, Teacher Shen! Zhou Hang, he..." The student ran up to Teacher Shen and reported between gasps.

Shen Lin's heart tightened when he heard that.

"What happened? Speak quickly!"

"Zhou Hang and the others brought his older brother to block Lin Mo. Teacher, hurry and go take a look." The student spoke in broken gasps.

At that moment, Shen Lin felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

The sky had fallen.

That damned Zhou Hang—how the fuck did he act so fast?

"Teacher, now..." Before the student could react, Teacher Shen grabbed him and dragged him into a frantic run.

"Lead the way, quickly, quickly, quickly!"

Meanwhile.

Su Yue, who had been cultivating, was disturbed by someone.

"What is it?" Su Yue asked in confusion.

"That Junior Lin you were paying attention to earlier has run into some trouble."

"I saw someone following behind him. They might be up to something," the girl explained.

Su Yue's eyes narrowed.

"Where is he? Take me there quickly!"

After the class-placement assessment ended, Lin Mo was leisurely wandering around the academy.

Plant Academy covered a large area, lush with greenery everywhere.

Lin Mo walked along the bluestone paths, exploring all around and specifically heading into places with dense vegetation.

Just then, an overbearing figure stepped out from the shadows of the thick grass ahead. A sinister grin spread across his face as he directly blocked Lin Mo's path.

Before Lin Mo could ask anything, yellow, yellow, and purple Soul Rings emerged around the figure one by one. A dense, powerful pressure of Soul Power surged toward him, far surpassing that of a freshman.

"So you're the kid called Lin Mo?!"

He was a young man who looked seventeen or eighteen, wearing the green academy uniform exclusive to upper-year students. He stood tall, and his aura was formidable.

Lin Mo paused in surprise.

Demacia?

Zhou Hang and the group of noble children had not gone far.

They were all hiding behind the grass nearby, watching. Seeing the ambush unfold ahead, sinister smiles hung on their lips.

Heh, now you're in for it.