"Dean Xiao, the test was a success. I can indeed control the power within her." Across the desk, Lu Ling rested his chin on his folded hands, putting on an air of profundity.
"So... please call Ding Yumian over."
"...So you weren't actually sure you could control it before?" For the first time, Dean Xiao found himself this speechless in front of Lu Ling.
"That's right, so I went and tested it."
"How did it feel?"
"She's beautiful! A beauty steeped in melancholy."
"No respect for your elders!" Dean Xiao chuckled, then picked up the desk phone.
"Fu, you..."
After a few brief words, Dean Xiao ended the call.
"They'll be here within ten minutes."
"Why so serious? It's not like I can't wait." Lu Ling idly played with the tea set on the desk.
"What, you're giving her special attention because she's a great beauty?"
"Yes."
"I'll never get used to how candid you are. If only this world were as genuine as you." Dean Xiao laughed despite himself, his gaze gradually drifting into the distance, looking weighed down with worries.
"We've strayed off topic." Dean Xiao poured himself a cup of tea. "Since we have time, why don't we talk about you?"
"Me? What is there to say about me?"
"A month ago, the Crimson Alert in Bo City shocked the nation. Someone named Lu Ling killed the Winged Azure Wolf and several members of the Black Vatican. His most distinctive feature was a white flying dragon Summoned Beast." Dean Xiao seemed to have come prepared.
He had probably memorized the entire news report!
"Lu Ling, if I remember correctly, you're from Bo City too, aren't you?"
Mu Zhuoyun had registered his household, so naturally, it could only be a Bo City registration.
"Yes, I did it." Lu Ling readily admitted it.
"What a surprise. You're only at the Intermediate Level, aren't you? Yet you could kill the Winged Azure Wolf, which could contend with several Advanced Level mages."
Dean Xiao inwardly marveled at this young genius. A true dragon like him even knew how to conceal his edge. The strength he had displayed so far was certainly no simple matter of being able to kill the Winged Azure Wolf.
Lu Ling himself was an amalgamation of many things that defied common sense.
A Calamity Bringer, born with multiple elements.
He even suspected that Lu Ling might have an innate talent for every element!
"Well, I cultivate the Summoning System, after all. It's not as if you don't know what dragons are capable of."
"True enough." Dean Xiao's tone grew a little heavier. "But I still have to remind you: the Winged Azure Wolf was only a Demon Beast. Nothing will come looking for revenge. The Black Vatican is different. They infest every filthy corner of the world. Be careful, and don't let your boat capsize in a gutter."
"I know perfectly well how utterly depraved they are. I'd love for them to come knocking so I can kill them one by one," Lu Ling said softly.
His expression was calm, as though this were something long since included in his plans for his life.
Dean Xiao froze for a moment, never having expected the youth before him to hold such an attitude toward the Black Vatican.
Others avoided the Black Vatican like the plague, terrified of encountering them. Lu Ling, on the other hand, had already marked them as prey.
"You... put caution first. A genius who dies young is no genius."
"Thank you for the reminder."
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
The person who opened the door was a middle-aged man, already impatient the moment he entered.
"Dean Xiao, I've brought her. What was that method you mentioned?"
The otherworldly, melancholy beauty followed right behind him.
The arrivals were none other than Ding Yumian and her overseer and guardian, Dean Fu.
"No rush, no rush. Sit down first."
Ding Yumian's gaze was suddenly drawn to the white-haired person sitting opposite Dean Xiao.
Skin like congealed cream, a face like white jade.
That was her impression of Lu Ling.
"We meet again." Lu Ling greeted her.
"Mm... hello." Ding Yumian was utterly confused at the moment, with no idea why he was here.
"Dean Xiao, stop beating around the bush. We can't afford any delay with something this important." Dean Fu's tone remained urgent.
"Hehe, the key to the method lies with this young man. His name is Lu Ling." Dean Xiao raised a hand to indicate him.
"Hello, Dean Fu."
"Him?"
Only then did Dean Fu turn his attention to studying that youthful face.
Could a young man like this solve the taboo problem of a Calamity running out of control?
He did not want to judge by appearances, but the other party looked about Ding Yumian's age. For a young man to have solved something even old fellows like them could do nothing about was simply a flight of fancy.
"I can control that power. I already tested it a few days ago." Lu Ling kept it brief, without offering even a single word of explanation.
A few days ago?
Ding Yumian noticed that timing.
It could only have been when they first met, on the competition platform.
Thinking back, Ding Yumian felt a faint ache in her neck. But even then, she had not noticed. No wonder she had felt so relaxed at the time. He had been quietly helping her.
"Then what price needs to be paid?" Dean Fu did not concern himself with why Lu Ling possessed such an ability, instead first rationally analyzing the drawbacks.
"She-Ding Yumian naturally won't have to pay any price."
Hearing that, Dean Fu inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
"What about you?" Ding Yumian suddenly asked.
"I won't pay any price either." Lu Ling's straightforward tone made it even harder to suspect that he was lying.
How could there be no price! There's no way I'm telling Ding Yumian, though. With this girl's kind heart, she's so foolish she'd even give her life for Pearl Academy.
"In that case, there's no time to lose. Let's get ready right away. What do we need to do?" Dean Fu asked.
"It's simple. We just need to hold hands." With that, Lu Ling held out his hand to Ding Yumian.
"That simple?" Dean Fu wondered whether he had misheard, but surely his eyes could not deceive him.
Lu Ling really had extended his hand, waiting for Ding Yumian to place hers in it.
"This boy's innate talent is very unusual. It should be an ability of his innate talent," Dean Xiao briefly explained.
Ding Yumian hesitated for a moment, then spoke with a serious expression.
"Please help me."
She placed her right hand directly in his, without any bashfulness over the distinction between men and women, only a terrifying degree of composure.
"Mm."
Lu Ling closed his eyes and carefully sensed it.
Unlike the brief contact before, this time he would take control all the way through in one go!
A distinct power emanated from within Ding Yumian. Enveloped in fathomless mental power, Lu Ling felt himself immersed in a boundless, dark abyss.
But... in the end, he still returned to his own mental universe.
At that moment, his seldom-used Psychic Element nebula shone brilliantly, its forty-nine stars illuminating one another as they "learned" the power within Ding Yumian.
The feedback to Lu Ling himself was that his mental power was growing at an inconceivable rate. This was no fixed speed; every second, it would become twice as fast as the second before!
Along with it came the emotions Ding Yumian had buried deep in her heart over all these years. After a moment of joy came endless sorrow, self-reproach... an unceasing stream of negative emotions.
Everything she had once suppressed in her heart was now released in full, yet Lu Ling alone was feeling it!