Displaying Talent and Entering the Genius Class, Roger's Impending Revenge

Thunder Academy's Academic Affairs Office was located on the second floor of the main building. The corridor stretched so far that its end was nowhere in sight, and portraits of outstanding graduates from past years hung along the walls on both sides.

The person in charge of registration was a middle-aged director in his fifties named Meng. His hair was sparse, and he wore crystal lenses on the bridge of his nose. He sat behind his desk with a thick register spread open before him and a testing crystal ball at hand. When he saw the three of us enter, he adjusted his glasses and swept his gaze over us, finally stopping at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan emblem on my collar.

"Transfer student from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. The dean already told me about you. State your name, age, Soul Power Level, and soul ring configuration."

"Yu Tianlin, age... hmm, twelve. Soul Power Level thirty. First soul ring, thousand-year. Second soul ring, thousand-year."

I deliberately concealed my real age, true Soul Power, and third soul ring. It never hurt to be cautious while away from home.

Director Meng's pen tip pierced the register.

He raised his head, and his glasses nearly slipped off his nose. He hurriedly pushed them back into place, his voice rising several pitches. "Two thousand-year soul rings? Twelve years old? Level thirty?" He swallowed, lowered his head to look at the hole in the register, then looked back up at me. After confirming it several times, he finally turned his attention to the testing crystal ball.

I placed my hand on it, and the crystal ball lit up at the level-thirty mark.

Director Meng took a deep breath and wrote a few lines in the register.

He turned to Qing Luo, his voice still unsteady. "And you?"

"Qing Luo, twelve years old, Soul Power Level twenty-four. First soul ring, hundred-year. Second soul ring, thousand-year."

This time, Director Meng's glasses truly slid down, wobbling twice on the tip of his nose. He looked at Qing Luo, then at me, opening and closing his mouth. His expression made it seem as though he doubted whether he had woken up properly that morning. A twelve-year-old at level thirty with two thousand-year soul rings was already outrageous enough, but now even a maid had a thousand-year second soul ring.

He had served as the Academic Affairs Office director for over a decade and registered countless geniuses, yet he had never seen a configuration like this.

Yu Xiaolou stepped forward last, clearly less confident than the first two. "Yu Xiaolou, twelve years old, Soul Power Level twenty-one, two hundred-year soul rings."

Director Meng finally let out a breath, his expression like that of a drowning man clutching at a lifeline. Thank goodness—there was finally one normal person. Yu Xiaolou's configuration was outstanding even among ordinary students, but compared with the first two, it was at least still within the bounds of his understanding.

He closed the register, wiped his lenses, and put his glasses back on. His fingers tapped the desk three times as if organizing his thoughts before he spoke. "According to Thunder Academy's class placement standards, Yu Tianlin and Qing Luo, you both meet the requirements for the Genius Class and will be assigned there. Yu Xiaolou, you're a little short of the mark, so you'll be assigned to the Advanced Class."

"Wait."

Director Meng looked up at me.

"Yu Xiaolou will enter the Genius Class with us."

Director Meng frowned, lightly tapping the register with his fingers. "The admission standards for the Genius Class were established when the academy was founded. Yu Xiaolou does not meet those standards. An exceptional admission requires the dean's personal signature. It's not that I'm refusing to do you a favor, but rules are rules."

"Then ask the dean to sign it."

"The dean isn't at the academy today."

"Then assign him to the Genius Class first. The paperwork can be completed afterward."

Director Meng rubbed the bridge of his nose. His gaze lingered on my face for a long while before shifting to Yu Xiaolou. In the end, he sighed. A twelve-year-old genius at level thirty with two thousand-year soul rings, backed by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—he knew exactly how much weight that carried. It was not worth clashing with someone like that over a class placement slot.

"Fine." He reopened the register and wrote another line after Yu Xiaolou's name. "Yu Xiaolou, Genius Class One. Exceptional admission, pending the dean's signature. But let me make this clear: the training intensity of the Genius Class is three times that of the Advanced Class. If you can't keep up and get eliminated, you'll still be demoted to the Advanced Class."

Yu Xiaolou sprang up from his chair and bowed to Director Meng. "Thank you, Director! I'll definitely work hard to keep up!"

Director Meng waved his hand, signaling that we could leave. After the three of us departed and the corridor fell quiet, Director Meng returned to his chair and stared at the few lines in the register in silence for quite some time. Then he opened a drawer, took out a blank soul master profile form, and filled in my name in the first field. In the upper-right corner of the form was a line of small print: Submitted for the dean's review.

Half an hour later, that profile form appeared on the dean's desk.

Thunder Academy's dean was surnamed Qin, named Qin Yue. He was an eight-ring Soul Douluo, and his martial soul was the Thunder-Patterned Tiger. He had been the dean of Thunder Academy for fifteen years, and the talented youngsters he had seen could have formed an entire reinforced company. At that moment, he leaned back in his chair with a teacup in hand, the profile form Director Meng had sent spread out before him. Director Meng stood before the desk and gave him a detailed report of what had happened during registration.

After listening, Qin Yue took a sip of tea, his expression unchanged.

"Two thousand-year soul rings, level thirty at twelve years old. Even the maid's second soul ring is thousand-year, and he forcibly stuffed an unqualified kid into the Genius Class." He set down his teacup and leaned back in his chair. "This Yu Tianlin certainly has the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's style of doing things."

"Dean, should we adjust his class placement? Or at least arrange an entrance test for him? After all, the strength of a transfer student needs to be verified," Director Meng asked cautiously.

Qin Yue waved his hand. "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan sent word a few days ago." He looked out the window. "That old dragon personally put in a word. So give him whatever resources he wants and whatever conveniences he needs. Don't bother with him. Let him do as he pleases."

Director Meng froze. "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan leader personally spoke for him? Just who is this child?"

"You don't need to concern yourself with that. You only need to know one thing: while he is at Thunder Academy, no one is allowed to make things difficult for him or those he brought with him. As for everything else, let him do as he wishes. And regarding his true strength, don't ask, and don't deliberately test him." Qin Yue picked up his teacup again, ending the discussion.

Meanwhile, in the Advanced Class dormitory area of Thunder Academy.

Roger sat in his private dorm room with an ice compress over his right knee. Kneeling outside the academy gates earlier had left two bruises from the stone pavement, but what hurt more than his knee was his pride. He had run rampant through Thunder Academy for two whole years, only to be forced to his knees before the entire student body by the pressure of a newly arrived transfer student. His martial soul had been frightened back into his body, and he had not even had room to resist.

Someone knocked on the door—three light taps followed by one heavy knock, the signal used by his lackeys. Roger did not open it. He merely spoke through the door. "Did you bring it?"

The person outside slid an envelope through the gap beneath the door, then wisely left. Roger picked up the envelope, pulled out the folded sheet inside, and unfolded it. Neat, densely packed writing recorded all the information gathered at the registration office that day: Yu Tianlin, twelve years old, Soul Power Level thirty, two thousand-year soul rings, martial soul suspected to be a mutated dragon type, a collateral descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan with direct ties to Yu Yuanzhen. The accompanying maid Qing Luo, twelve years old, Soul Power Level twenty-four, with a thousand-year second ring. The other attendant, Yu Xiaolou, twelve years old, level twenty-one, with two hundred-year soul rings.

Roger read the page and remained silent for a long time. Then he turned it over and wrote another letter on the back.

The letter was for his father. He described everything that had happened that day in detail, from the conflict at the academy gates to the information uncovered at the registration office. He carefully chose his wording, portraying himself as an innocent victim who had been humiliated for no reason, while the new transfer student had bullied noble children by relying on his family background. At the end of the letter, he wrote a line in heavy strokes: "If this boy is not removed, your son will no longer have any place at Thunder Academy."

He sealed the letter and passed it back to the servant outside the door.

"Young Master?"

"Deliver this letter to my father personally. Use the fastest route. It must reach him before tonight."

"Yes."

After speaking, Roger leaned back against the headboard, his fingers brushing the bruises on his knee as his eyes darkened. His father might only be a viscount, but he had spent over twenty years building connections throughout the Balak Kingdom's official circles. A collateral descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—Roger refused to believe his father could not deal with him.