"Is He a Titled Douluo?"

As the two chatted, Shui Bing'er came jogging out of the academy and reached their side.

"Teacher? You're here too?"

Shui Bing'er looked somewhat surprised at the middle-aged woman, but she quickly pointed at Ning Yao.

"Teacher, his name is Ning Yao. I just went to ask the dean, and she said I could bring him into the academy."

The middle-aged woman seemed to have known the outcome already and silently nodded.

"Good. Take this young... Ning Yao to see the dean."

"Yes, Teacher."

Shui Bing'er did not hesitate any longer. She looked up at Ning Yao, and after he nodded, she led him away and swaggered into the academy with him.

This scene caused quite a stir among the passersby outside the academy, and they could not help speculating about Ning Yao's identity.

Even many Tianshui Academy students were the same. Wherever Shui Bing'er led Ning Yao, many people stopped to stare in shock.

After all, they had not seen a living man inside the academy for a very long time.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged woman remained standing at the academy gate.

Ever since the two had left, she had been frowning as she watched the direction in which they departed.

Something was off. Very off.

Not just a little off—twelve parts out of ten off.

When she had stood beside that young man just now, she seemed to have unconsciously felt very comfortable. There was an incredibly rich vitality around him, and she instinctively wanted to draw closer.

She had actually felt this way that day as well, but afterward, she had assumed it was because of that pill.

She had thought the immense life force emanating from the pill on Ning Yao had attracted her.

But the key was that Ning Yao no longer had the pill, and on the way back, she had clearly felt that the pill was less attractive than Ning Yao himself.

Could he have even more pills on him? Had he come here this time to sell something?

She pondered for a while, but soon shook her head. Turning around, she hurried into the academy gates. She had to see for herself what was going on.

Where exactly was that mesmerizing aura of life coming from?

At the same time, Ning Yao and Shui Bing'er had arrived outside the dean's office.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in."

A somewhat deep voice sounded out, and Shui Bing'er pushed open the door for Ning Yao.

The two entered the dean's office one after the other.

Inside the room sat a noblewoman with a head of silver hair behind a desk. She was the dean of Tianshui Academy.

At that moment, her brows were slightly furrowed as she looked down at a file in her hands.

When she saw someone enter, she set it down and raised her head.

"You're the one who sold Bing'er the pill..."

She spoke leisurely, but abruptly stopped halfway through.

"?"

A huge question mark seemed to pop up over her head. She looked at Ning Yao, then at the still-open file she had just set down.

"Black hair, green eyes, with a faint aura of life around him..."

"May I ask your name, sir?"

The dean spoke softly. The authority in her voice from before was gone, replaced by a trace of hesitation.

This inexplicable scene left Shui Bing'er, standing nearby, completely bewildered.

Where had her usually imposing dean gone? What was going on now?

Could she know Ning Yao?

With that thought, Shui Bing'er turned to look at Ning Yao beside her again, only to find that he did not look remotely like someone reuniting with an old acquaintance.

Ning Yao simply spoke.

"Ning Yao. I heard the dean was looking for me."

"..."

The dean of Tianshui Academy, that noblewoman, did not immediately answer Ning Yao. Instead, she lowered her head and looked once more at the intelligence report that had just arrived from Heaven Dou City.

Name: Ning Yao

Level: Level 95 Healing-Type Titled Douluo

Title: Abundance Douluo

Appearance: Black hair, green eyes, with a faint aura of life constantly emanating from his body

(Special note from Spirit Hall: Lord Abundance Douluo dislikes worldly affairs, dislikes being disturbed, and dislikes restraints. Those who provoke him shall bear the consequences themselves. Abundance Douluo is a friend of Spirit Hall.)

The Tianshui dean: "..."

"May I ask... are you Senior Abundance?"

She swallowed and spoke with some uncertainty.

It was too much of a coincidence. Everything matched perfectly. She did not believe there could be such a coincidence in this world.

Not to mention that Tianshui Academy had once bought a pill from Ning Yao.

That pill had come from the hands of a powerful Titled Douluo.

And Ning Yao—a healing-type Titled Douluo, Abundance Douluo...

Following that line of thought, everything made sense.

Why would an ordinary person appear at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest? Why would an ordinary person possess such a pill?

Even why the teachers and students under her had mistaken Ning Yao for an ordinary person.

There were traces to follow for all of it.

Under her uncertain gaze, Ning Yao slowly nodded.

"It's me. You haven't mistaken me for someone else."

After his divine sense briefly swept over the documents spread across the Tianshui Academy dean's desk, Ning Yao immediately understood the cause and effect.

So this dean had only just received intelligence about him, and the next second, he had appeared before her.

"Dean, Ning Yao, what are you talking about?"

Of the three, Shui Bing'er was the only one still completely confused, unable to understand what was happening.

She only felt that everything had suddenly become strange, as though their positions had been swapped.

Her dean had become the nervous one, while Ning Yao beside her had instead become the calm and steady one.

The scene left her utterly bewildered, and she could not help asking.

However, the very next second after her words fell, she received a warning look from her dean.

Before she could figure out what was going on—

The dean stood up, walked properly to Ning Yao, and respectfully bowed to him.

"Greetings, Senior Abundance Douluo. Bing'er is ignorant; I hope you will forgive her."

Shui Bing'er: "?"

Dean, what did you say?

Abundance what?

She subconsciously turned around and stared at Ning Yao in shock. Only then did Shui Bing'er belatedly move to the dean's side and stand opposite Ning Yao.

"Dean, what did you say?"

"This Senior Ning Yao is the Level 95 healing-type Titled Douluo just certified by Spirit Hall. His title is Abundance."

As the Tianshui dean explained it to Shui Bing'er, she tugged on Shui Bing'er's arm.

Shui Bing'er was intelligent as well. Though her mind was still somewhat muddled, she reacted quickly at the dean's prompting and bowed.

"Shui Bing'er... greets Senior Abundance Douluo."

She still could not quite accept that Ning Yao, who had just been talking with her, had suddenly become several generations her senior—a Titled Douluo standing above countless others.

But the expression on the dean's face beside her told her that all of this was real.

Ning Yao felt somewhat helpless when he saw this.

All he could say was that it truly was too much of a coincidence.

"You needn't be so formal. I did not come here with any other intention this time. I simply came at the dean's invitation for a chat."