Ch 126

Chapter 126: Change of Heart

"Hey—did you hear? People from Mingyue Academy are coming, and I heard there's an unparalleled genius among them!" Lou Ruoyi tilted her head and said.

"An unparalleled genius? How many geniuses are there? More talented than Mu Chen? I don't buy it," Michelle curled her lips and said with disapproval.

Lou Ruoyi rolled her eyes and shot Mi Xue a helpless look: "Mi Xue—in your eyes, Mu Chen is the only genius left."

Mi Xue lay on the bed, cracking melon seeds and said lazily: "So what? Didn't you hear? He drew a third-level formation pattern at the formation court and is now a third-level formation mage. Formations, inscriptions, alchemy, talismans—and he can even give birth? It seems there's nothing he can't do."

"He still doesn't know weapon refining, and the dean of the Weapon‑Manufacturing Academy is deeply saddened by that," Lou Ruoyi said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"That's because he doesn't want to learn weapon refining. If he did, he'd surely master it. Refining weapons is sweaty work, and it's really boring. No wonder Mu Chen doesn't want to learn it," Mi Xue said with total understanding.

Bai Le crossed her arms, sighed softly, and gave Mi Xue a cold glance: "Mu Chen is truly a genius among geniuses. What a pity—the famous grass has a master."

Mi Xue said, slightly discouraged: "That guy Mu Chen—why isn't he lascivious? That doesn't mean all men aren't. Besides Ye Shi, Mu Chen never pretended to flirt with anyone."

"If he were lascivious, what would you do?" Bai Le snorted.

Mi Xue shrugged: "If he were lascivious, maybe I could fight for him!"

Lou Ruoyi glared angrily at Mi Xue: "Girl, you're shameless."

Mi Xue looked at Lou Ruoyi and replied: "Impossible! Who made him so good? Ruoyi, dare you say you're not moved?"

Lou Ruoyi shot Mi Xue a hard glance and stayed silent.

"Mu Chen is truly a genius—but I heard that among the people from Mingyue Academy, there's someone even more talented named Lu Yao. Fifteen years old, two-star Martial Spirit, and a fourth-level formation master," Lou Le's face turned serious and frank.

A strange color flickered across Ye Rong's face: a two‑star Martial Spirit at such a young age—and Saint Star Academy doesn't even have one! "Mu Chen has finally found his match this time!" Ye Rong couldn't help but say.

Mi Xue nodded and said: "Yes! If Mu Chen faces Lu Yao in the inscription competition, neither outcome is certain." She thought if he lost everything, he'd lose face—Mu Chen alone going for fifteen slots? If he lost all, he might not even walk offstage.

At that moment, Ye Rong could only feel hatred toward Mu Chen—and secretly hoped he would fail.

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Mu Chen entered the other courtyard. Ye Shi was holding an introductory formation manual and reading it happily.

Maybe it really was the bloodline—Ye Shi had extraordinary talent for formations. He could draw many first-level formations just by looking at them. Mu Chen's own understanding wasn't as good as Ye Shi's.

When Ye Shi saw Mu Chen enter, a sweet smile bloomed: "I heard you decided to compete for the Array Court."

Mu Chen nodded slightly: "Yes."

Ye Shi blinked, his eyes darting side to side: "You're not hesitant? Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Mu Chen smiled and looked at Ye Shi intently. Ye Shi's face seemed calm, but his eyes betrayed something—forwards, as if confirming something.

"I suddenly realized—it's our responsibility to bring glory to the academy."

Ye Shi lowered his head a little dejected by Mu Chen's words.

Mu Chen looked at Ye Shi, smiled, wrapped his arms around Ye Shi's waist, and said with a tug on Ye Shi's forehead:

"I was joking—but yes, I'll participate. Of course, it's for you. Your father's formation magic can't be weak. I'll surpass him and bring glory to you."

Ye Shi's eyes showed a small pride. He clenched his fists and declared: "Yes—you're stronger than him. Crush him beneath your feet. Let him see how powerful you are."

Mu Chen: "… Ye Shi seems to have a strong bias against that "father"!

"Where's that book?" Ye Shi took it from the spatial ring and handed it to Mu Chen.

"This book is rough. Every hour, I have to let it suck my blood before I can read it," Ye Shi said with a wry smirk.

Mu Chen bit his finger, dripped blood on the page. The blood was absorbed, but the pages still looked dull.

"Hey—no! You dripped too little blood?" Ye Shi was stunned, confused.

Mu Chen nodded: "No, but our blood alone can't open all of it."

Ye Shi frowned: "What do you mean?"

"Some great clans with special bloodlines have special methods to ensure their abilities aren't stolen by outsiders—methods not found in a small country like Xuanfeng Empire," Mu Chen explained.

Ye Shi nodded: "I see!" He realized this strange method boosted the value of the book even more beyond his imagination.

"Put the book away. Don't use that ability carelessly in front of others," Mu Chen said seriously.

Activating inherited blood abilities isn't foolproof. Some who obtained it were later tracked by special‑blooded family heirs—people were killed for blood or enslaved. When needed, their blood was drawn.

Mu Chen looked at Ye Shi thoughtfully: "Are you interested in joining the Array Court competition?"

Ye Shi looked surprised: "Me? Can I?"

Mu Chen responded disapprovingly: "You can already draw second‑level formation patterns, right?"

"But I can only draw second‑level patterns! The people here are already third‑level masters," Ye Shi frowned.

Mu Chen said dismissively: "That's fine. There currently isn't a third‑level formation mage in the court. Even if you lose, it's not a disgrace—just don't win this Court's competition."

"Let me think it over again," Ye Shi shook his head.

Ye Shi realized Mu Chen didn't care much about the competition, but couldn't avoid it. As master, his livelihood hinged on this competition—if he failed, they would lose three slots. He couldn't shoulder that.

He didn't even know if he could win the Martial Arts competition—but he told himself: he's strong—but the opponent has two martial spirit levels—that's a realm gap. Confidence alone isn't enough.

Seeing Ye Shi's hesitation, Mu Chen wasn't worried: "There's still time. You can use these days to work hard. Maybe you can become a third‑level formation master before Mingyue Academy arrives."

Ye Shi's eyes widened in shock: "You think I'm you? I don't have your genius learning ability!"

"You said you'd never seen those formations before, but they feel familiar—and you mastered them in one go? That's the mark of inherited talent. Your ancestors must have produced high‑level formation masters. This talent is marked in the bloodline—it can reappear in future generations," Mu Chen said lightly.

Ye Shi blinked: based on Mu Chen's words, his cheap father isn't ordinary! Too bad he's not a good person—he hoped his dad would face some hardship.

Ye Shi bit his finger, dripped blood on the page, and pushed the book toward Mu Chen.

Seeing that, Mu Chen was surprised: "What are you doing?"

Ye Shi smiled: "Isn't this book useful to you?"

Mu Chen nodded: "That's true."

"Don't you have photographic memory? Hurry—take notes. You've got only one hour. Though your formation level is third, if you want to win, you must study hard," Ye Shi smiled and said.

Mu Chen nodded: "Yes." Ye Shi's determination was clear—how could he refuse?

Mu Chen flipped through the golden formation book, a sense of enlightenment blossomed in him. This formation was beyond the academy's simple cultivations. It included a stacking formation—merging several low-level matrices to multiply their power.

Mu Chen realized that he could absorb up to the fourth‑level master knowledge from the book. Fifth‑level is too advanced and would give him headaches.

Seeing Mu Chen's intense expression, Ye Shi couldn't help remarking: "Are you okay?"

Mu Chen shook his head: "I'm fine—just a bit rushed." Knowledge of fifth‑level formations wasn't something he could touch yet. The fourth‑level knowledge was deep and vast; he needed time to comprehend.

"I'll need to retire for a few days," Mu Chen said seriously.

Ye Shi nodded: "You should."

Mu Chen backed away as people from the Array Court came looking for him.

Ye Shi saw a chubby old man approaching with some mentors—and couldn't help feeling a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

"Disciple Ye! Where's Mu Chen?" Hao Tu looked at Ye Shi anxiously and asked.

Ye Shi shrugged lightly: "He's in retreat."

Hao Tu frowned: "He's in retreat?"

Ye Shi nodded: "Yes. Anything wrong?"

"Well, I heard Mu Chen became a third‑level formation mage and I'd like to meet him and exchange formation spells. I don't know how long he's been in retreat—can I ask if he could step out for a moment?" Hao Tu said.

Hao Tu's words were polite. Though Mu Chen had become a third‑level mage, the people from Mingyue Academy also hold that rank. His chance of winning wasn't high. Hao Tu wanted to use this meeting to give Mu Chen some advice to increase his odds.

Ye Shi lifted his chin: "He just retired—he'll be in retreat for several days. You want to ask Mu Chen about formations? You've got questions? Ask away! You could even ask me!"

The mentors behind Hao Tu looked at him oddly.

Hao Tu's face suddenly turned pale: "You know formations?"

"A little," said Ye Shi.

Just then, Xia Qingyan arrived—just in time to hear Ye Shi say that: "When did you understand formations?" she asked.

"A few days ago—Mu Chen said I was a genius," Ye Shi said proudly.

Xia Qingyan's complexion changed. Inwardly, she thought: Mu Chen originally didn't want to participate in the competition, but suddenly agreed—could it be because of Ye Shi? Yes—Mu Chen only broke the prior decision for Ye Shi...

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