The ancient gates of Azure Profound Academy towered before him. Vines of passing years covered the blue-gray walls, lending them an air of solemnity and weathered age.
Tang Wulin stood in the admissions office's archive room, holding a student record he had already read three times.
"Enrollment date: year xxxx... graduation date: year xxxx..."
Although the writing was neat, Tang Wulin's brow furrowed more deeply the longer he looked.
He had a photographic memory, along with an absolute sensitivity to Gu Yue's aura. If Gu Yue had truly lived here for several years, even if she had deliberately concealed her presence, some trace of the Silver Dragon King's elemental fluctuations would have lingered among the academy's plants, bricks, and stones.
Yet there was nothing here.
The air held only the smell of old books and a faint scent of dust, without that familiar, cool silver aura.
"Wulin, how is it?" Zi JI leaned closer and asked cautiously, studying Tang Wulin's grave expression.
Tang Wulin said nothing. He merely closed the folder gently and handed it back to the bewildered teacher from the Academic Affairs Office beside him.
"Thank you. I think... there must have been a mistake."
Tang Wulin nodded politely, then turned and left the archive room.
His footsteps felt heavy as he walked along Azure Profound Academy's quiet, tree-lined path.
"Nothing."
He spoke softly, his voice carrying a disappointment he could barely conceal. "There's no trace of her having been here. That record must be fake."
Zi JI and Bi Ji exchanged a glance, each seeing the worry in the other's eyes.
"Could she have used some special secret technique to erase every trace?" Bi Ji asked tentatively.
"Perhaps." Tang Wulin stopped and looked up at the sky, his gaze growing distant. "Whatever the reason, it looks like