The Headmaster's Interview

From the outside, Angers's office looked like an old garage hidden behind bushes, but pushing open the door felt like stepping into a maze of inverted bookshelves.

The midsummer morning sunlight streamed through spotless frosted skylights, falling upon bone china teacups, oil paintings, and ancient books stacked to the ceiling, creating an atmosphere that was both antique and sharp.

Li Lin and Xia Mi sat upright while the legendary dragon slayer before them ground coffee beans.

Fine powder was slowly crushed inside the grinder, and a rich aroma spread through the air.

"I imagine you two have already had breakfast. Given the course schedule that has left so many professors in awe, perhaps a cup of coffee might make you feel more comfortable now?"

Angers expertly tamped down the coffee grounds and placed them into the coffee maker. With some apology, he said, "The beans in my office collection were nearly finished off by the previous batch of students. This month, all that remains is some Emerald Geisha given to me by old friends."

Upon hearing that, Xia Mi immediately pulled out her phone and looked up the price. Then she let out a startled cry. "Wow! Two thousand yuan a kilogram!"

Smiling, Angers poured the steaming coffee into bone china cups, then gently placed the two cups before Li Lin and Xia Mi.

"Coffee is the most ordinary consumable in office culture, so there's no need to place too much importance on the price."

It was obvious that Angers did not particularly enjoy coffee. Its heavy, intense, bitter, and decadent flavor clearly did not suit this elderly man, who carried himself with the elegant, flirtatious air of an aristocrat.

Li Lin picked up his cup and took a small sip. It was too hot, so he calmly set the expensive bone china cup back down.

Xia Mi glanced at Li Lin's reaction and wisely did not take a sip.

Angers watched the little movements of the young man and woman before opening a drawer, taking out two contracts, and placing them on the desk.

"Regarding the specially arranged qualifying examination next week, there have been quite a few objections within the Board of Trustees lately. There are always stubborn factions who believe that you might suddenly turn into Dead Servants in the examination hall and endanger their heirs living on campus."

"I trust that after this brief period of campus life, as well as the reminders from your preparatory class teachers, you now understand what makes you special?"

Li Lin and Xia Mi exchanged a glance, then nodded in unison.

Before their bloodlines awakened, hybrids would indeed display learning efficiency and physical abilities beyond those of ordinary people. But when sixteen-year-old preparatory students whose bloodlines had yet to awaken could demonstrate combat prowess that even veteran martial arts masters found themselves unable to match, anyone would suspect that their bloodlines were headed in a troubling direction.

If they had merely mastered the mysteries of various martial arts, that could still be vaguely explained away as "exceptional talent."

But the displays in those combat recordings—shattering floors with a kick or breaking carbon-fiber blades barehanded—were simply too shocking.

Skill alone could not achieve that. They needed extraordinarily superior bloodlines as the foundation for such physical strength.

It was all Xia Mi's fault. She always liked to show off her martial arts in front of the camera.

Li Lin repeatedly shot glares at his childhood friend beside him.

Xia Mi awkwardly lowered her head.

Although this girl had once shattered a stack of tiles taller than herself with a single slap, Xia Mi was not the one the Board of Trustees truly worried about.

It was Li Lin, who had shown no reaction to the audio clip of "Word Spirit: Emperor."

If nearly all of Li Lin's Dragon Race genes were recessive, and he had already displayed such outstanding talent before his bloodline awakened, could he still be called human after it did?

Even Angers had no definite answer to that question.

But he was willing to believe that Li Lin was the one and only "The One" in this world. The assessment of hybrid rank had never depended on the proportion of dragon blood, but on the quantity of "effective genes," as well as one's restraint and control over power.

Angers had dealt with dragons for far too long. He had seen countless young people lose their way, lose control, and become Dead Servants. He had seen the heaps of corpses before the steps leading toward the Hybrid Monarch.

Li Lin gave him an entirely different feeling.

This young man had truly mastered the power within his body and firmly acknowledged his identity as a human.

That was rare, because most hybrids gradually lost themselves in the superiority of their bloodlines and slowly came to believe that they had become a new "Dragon Race."

Although Li Lin himself often appeared surprised by his own "progress" and "growth," he had already integrated those powers and skills that had appeared out of nowhere.

He was like an iron box. No matter how much the balloon inside expanded, it could never exceed the control of his humanity.

Angers pushed the two contracts forward.

"You would have to sign these sooner or later. We have merely moved their appearance forward by one semester."

"These are...?"

"If either of you suffers an accident in the future, the college will be responsible for sending your body back home intact."

"Wow, how considerate." Xia Mi pursed her lips, then gave a perfunctory round of applause.

"After all, from the second semester of your freshman year until graduation, you will be exposed to the 'Battlefield Practicum.' At that time, you will see Dead Servants—and even real dragons—that previously existed only in textbooks and training videos."

Angers handed over a fountain pen for Xia Mi and Li Lin to share.

"Incidentally, if either of you is contaminated by dragon blood on the battlefield in the future and turns into a Dead Servant... then only ashes will be sent home."

After saying that, he lifted his own bone china cup and took a sip of coffee.

"I will personally proctor your 3E Exam. Given Li Lin's special circumstances, the preparatory class has been restricting your exposure to too many clips of 'Word Spirit: Emperor.' Therefore, a faction within the Board of Trustees has always believed that you might be overstimulated in the examination hall and transform into a Dead Servant."

Then what will you do if I listen to the entire recording this time and still have no reaction?

Li Lin complained inwardly, but he felt that would not actually be too bad. He had recently found quite a bit of information on the forums and confirmed that even first-generation dragons could not help writing a few lines of dragon script to express their feelings after hearing the dragon-language segment played during the 3E Exam.

Moreover, he had learned that Cassel College was quite willing to accept ordinary people with no dragon blood or only thin bloodlines, provided they possessed exceptional skills.

If the "Binding System" truly was not as omnipotent as he had imagined, and could not purify his bloodline, perhaps Cassel College would instead establish an entirely new bloodline rank for him?

More likely, he would become the school's second E-rank student after Fingel.

Angers carefully put away the contracts signed by Li Lin and Xia Mi. He had called these two preparatory students over simply because he wanted to personally confirm his judgment.

There was no need to examine Xia Mi further. Her bloodline was stable, her talent exceptional; she was a once-in-a-million prospect for dragon slaying.

Li Lin had always been the one troubling Angers. His bloodline rank remained uncertain, yet the talent he displayed was on par with Xia Mi's. Now that he had seen Li Lin in person, Angers felt that he had made the right bet.