75. A Plot

Lan Ruofeng walked towards Mu Chen, said, "It's a pity, Mu Chen, if your qualifications were better, you should be able to be accepted as an apprentice by a martial king."

Mu Chen glanced at Lan Ruofeng lightly, and said to himself: Lan Ruofeng, you only find a sense of superiority on me.

"Congratulations on you." Mu Chen said lightly.

Looking at Mu Chen's calm face, Lan Ruofeng could not wait to tear off Mu Chen's mask.

"Young Master Mu, Ye Shi is so favored by Senior Jing now, and he must have a promising future. Do you think you will be able to keep up with him?" Lan Ruofeng said worriedly.

Mu Chen smiled and said nonchalantly, "You don't have to worry about this, Young Master Lan. Your elder sect-brother doesn't seem to be an easy-going person. You should worry about whether you will be paled off by others."

Lan Ruofeng frowned, feeling depressed. The seventh prince was a member of the royal family and had a strong background. Although, at the Saint Star Academy, no matter what family you came from, the academy would treat you the same, but that was a saying only known for the outside world.

Mu Chen looked at Lan Ruofeng and continued, "Actually, Zhuang Yu seems to have a good impression on the seventh prince."

Lan Ruofeng's face suddenly sank. Murong Yan was from a royal family and was proud of himself. Now that both he and Murong Yan worshiped Hua Shu as their teacher, Murong Yan might not be friendly to him.

Mu Chen smiled lightly. There was mention of Murong Yan in the original book. But he appeared in a relatively later chapters. By then, Lan Ruofeng, with the help of Zhuang Yu, Ye Shi and others, rose all the way. Although Murong Yan was not bad, he was also not as good as Lan Ruofeng. Now, Lan Ruofeng had not developed as a real protagonist, but Murong Yan was in the best time. It was hard to say who would win or lose.

"Sorry, I have to go through the third round of testing. Excuse me." Mu Chen nodded to Lan Ruofeng.

Lan Ruofeng lowered his head, a cold look flashed in his eyes. If Mu Chen failed in the third round of testing, Ye Shi would forget about him. By that time, he would court Ye Shi who would be pleased and take his side.

Lan Ruofeng always had a feeling that if he lost Ye Shi, he would lose a lot of things. His intuition told him that if he didn’t take actions, Ye Shi would never belong to him.

Lan Ruofeng looked in the direction of Mu Chen, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

 

…………

Cheng Wanbai walked towards Mu Chen with a blushing face, "Young Master Mu, here we meet again."

"Miss Cheng, it's a pleasure meeting you here." Mu Chen smiled at Cheng Wanbai.

"I really didn't expect that Ye Shi would have eighth-level qualification. Master Mu, you must be under a lot of pressure right now." Cheng Wanbai smiled at Mu Chen.

Mu Chen said indifferently, "That's not true. Even if Stone is an eighth-level qualification, he is who he is!"

Cheng Wanbai smiled disapprovingly, and said, "Maybe so."

"How can he be so stressful? Now that Ye Shi has an eighth-level qualification, he happens to take advantage of Ye Shi in the future. He is so happy about it." Xie Danyan stood beside Cheng Wanbai and sneered coldly.

Mu Chen squinted his eyes. Xie Danyan and Cheng Wanbai actually were friends. "Do you know each other?"

Xie Danyan nodded and said, "That's right. We are good friends."

Mu Chen raised his eyebrows and said, "I wish your friendship will last forever."

In the original book, several friends became rivals because of the same one they both loved. Even worse, the ones they fought over did not choose either of them. 

"Young Master Mu, are you going to register? Why not go with us?" Cheng Wanbai suggested.

Mu Chen nodded and said, "Alright."

Mu Chen registered for the Alchemy School, one of the art schools. For some unknown reason, when he handed in the registration form, Mu Chen suddenly felt a sense of unease in his heart.

Cheng Wanbai looked at Mu Chen and said, "Mu Chen, you enrolled yourself in Alchemy School. Maybe we will be classmates in the future."

Mu Chen shrugged and said, "Maybe."

"Mu Chen, you enrolled in Alchemy School!" Ye Shi's voice came from behind Mu Chen.

Mu Chen turned around and was surprised to see Ye Shi. "Didn't you follow your master? Why did you come here?"

"I told Master Shifu that I had never seen the recruitment of Saint Star Academy, so he let me go." Ye Shi pouted.

"I see!" Mu Chen said with a smile.

 

 

…………

A resounding voice said from the loudspeaker of the academy, "Congratulations to all the students who passed the first and second rounds of the test. Those who have passed the test, please prepare for the next third round of the test."

Names appeared on the light curtain displayed names and groups of all candidates.

Ye Shi quickly swept across the list of the Alchemy School, and a bit of confusion flashed in his eyes, "Mu Chen, your name is not on the list of Alchemy School!"

Mu Chen's eyes narrowed. He had a bad premonition before. Was there any mistake?

"Didn't you go to register?" Ye Shi asked Mu Chen.

"I did." Mu Chen said in disapproval.

Cheng Wanbai frowned and said, "He did. I saw Mu Chen filled out the form."

"It's there." Xie Danyan pointed at the light curtain of the Talisman School.

Mu Chen looked at Talisman School's list, and saw his name on the light curtain.

"How come?" Mu Chen murmured.

Xie Danyan glanced at Mu Chen, and sneered, "When you filled out the form, you must have read it wrong."

"Impossible." Mu Chen frowned deeply.

Cheng Wanbai squinted her eyes. It was impossible. She peeked the content on Mu Chen's form. She was sure that Mu Chen applied for Alchemy School.

Xie Danyan raised her eyebrows and said with smirk, "The test at Talisman School will be held tomorrow afternoon. If you can't pass it, I'm afraid you won't be able to enter the Saint Star Academy."

Ye Shi's expression suddenly changed, "Why is this happening? Mu Chen is a second-level alchemist!"

Xie Danyan shrugged and said disapprovingly, "This is the rule of the Saint Star Academy. There is no why.”

Ye Shi gritted his teeth, took Mu Chen's hand, and said, "Let's go to the registration to find out why."

"Stone..." As Mu Chen wanted to say something, Ye Shi ignored it. He took Mu Chen's hand, and walked straight forward.

Cheng Wanbai looked at Xie Danyan, and asked, "Danyan, do you think that they will succeed?” 

Xie Danyan shook her head and said with some pity, "No, there will never be any mistakes in the Saint Star Academy, only the students are wrong."

Cheng Wanbai narrowed her eyes and said, "So, if Mu Chen fails the test, he won't be accepted?"

"Yes!" Xie Danyan nodded with her arms crossed over her chest.

"How could this be? He's a second-level alchemist! and a martial artist master." Cheng Wanbai said while frowning.

Xie Danyan shrugged and said, "The Saint Star Academy has no shortage of talents. They don’t care."

"What a pity." Cheng Wanbai sighed softly.

"He is in bad luck. Speaking of which, you really saw that Mu Chen applied for Alchemy School? Are you sure?" Xie Danyan asked Cheng Wanbai.

Cheng Wanbai nodded and said, "Yes! I am sure."

"Actually, generally speaking, it is impossible for Saint Star Academy to make such a mistake.” Xie Danyan said with narrowed eyes.

Cheng Wanbai looked at Xie Danyan and said, "Danyan, what do you mean? Mu Chen was tricked?"

Xie Danyan shrugged and said, "I didn't say that."

Cheng Wanbai clenched his fists and looked at the Saint Star Academy. Even the Saint Star Academy that everyone praised in the Xuanfeng Empire was not an absolute pure land!

 

…………

"It's wrong. I'm sorry, it's impossible for our academy to make a mistake."

……

"Change? You must be kidding me. We can't change things that have already been announced.”

……

"If you don't pass the test, you are out."

……

"We are rude? Ye Shi, even if you are martial king’s disciple, you have no right to say that."

…………

Ye Shi clenched his fists, his face turned red. "They are horrible!"

Mu Chen looked at Ye Shi who was about to burst into tears, and said, "Drop it. The test is tomorrow afternoon and I still have time to prepare it.” 

Ye Shi looked at Mu Chen, and said blankly, "Do you have time?"

"Mu Chen, do you want to learn to make talismans in one day?" Cheng Wanbai, who was trying to comfort Mu Chen, came over with Xie Danyan who was sneering.

Mu Chen nodded and said, "This is the only way."

Xie Danyan said sarcastically, "Your idea is quite creative!"

Mu Chen smiled bitterly and said to the two of them, "Excuse me, we are leaving.”

Mu Chen spent 100,000 yuan to buy dozens of books on the introduction of talismans from several teenagers who came to participate in the admission of Talisman School of Saint Star Academy. Ye Shi rented a training room near Saint Star Academy.

Thanks to Jing Chiyan, Ye Shi rented a house very smoothly.

 

…………

Murong Yan stood on the top of the mountain, looked at a young man beside him, and asked, "Have you checked why Ye Shi had a conflict with the recruiters today?"

"Yes. Ye Shi has a fiancé named Mu Chen, who is a second-level alchemist. For some reason, he was grouped in the Talisman School for the third round of test." The young man said.

Murong Yan squinted his eyes and said, "It was a trick?"

"Probably. I heard that Lan Ruofeng and Mu Chen don’t get along and the chief person in charge of the admissions of the Alchemy School is Lan Da of the Lan family." The boy said.

"Mu Chen is a martial artist mater, right?" Murong Yan remembered Mu Chen.

The boy nodded and said, "That's right. He is a sixth-level qualification, fourteen years old this year."

"Sixth-level qualification, and become a martial art master at the age of fourteen. He must have had some good luck. Unfortunately... accident happens!" Murong Yan shook his head.

The young man frowned and said, "Lan Ruofeng is way across the line. Mu Chen even hasn’t entered the Saint Star Academy, but he started to set a frame. Your Highness, do we need to..."

Murong Yan waved his hand and said, "No, let's watch it first."

 

 

76. Race against time

"Thank you, Uncle." Lan Ruofeng stood in front of a middle-aged man and said respectfully.

Lan Da looked at Lan Ruofeng with a gloomy face, and said, "This is only a one time thing. If someone in the college knows that I have played tricks on the admissions issue, it will be a big trouble."

Lan Ruofeng nodded hastily and replied, "I understand."

"Mu Chen is just a person with a sixth-level qualification. Although he has been promoted to a martial art master, he doesn’t deserve your attention. What are you kicking him out of the school? Why don’t you spend that time on practicing?” Lan Da said with a deep frown.

Lan Ruofeng gritted his teeth and said, "This person is like my mortal enemy. As long as he appears in front of me, I feel uncomfortable all over. Besides, the clan hopes that I can get on well with Ye Shi. It's easier to approach Ye Shi while Mu Chen is not around."

Lan Da looked at Lan Ruofeng and said, "Ye Shi is now Jing Chiyan's apprentice. If you can have a good relationship with him, there will be many benefits."

"I think so too." Lan Ruofeng said.

…………
When Ye Shi bought rune pens, rune paper, rune ink, and the first- and second-class runes that were available in the market, Mu Chen had already read all three books that introduced runes. Mu Chen read books very fast. Ye Shi doubted whether Mu Chen really finished reading the book, or just turned the pages over.

Ye Shi lowered his head. When he went to buy talisman paper before, Ye Shi asked the owner of the talisman shop, a talisman maker, how quickly one could learn to make talismans, and was it possible in one day? When he asked, everyone in the room laughed.

When Mu Chen was reading, he was very focused. Ye Shi didn't dare to disturb Mu Chen. He supported his chin with one elbow and sat in front of Mu Chen, watching Mu Chen read.

Mu Chen closed the last book, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly opened his eyes.

"Mu Chen, how are you feeling?" Ye Shi asked with wide eyes.

"It's okay. I have a general understanding of talisman." Mu Chen said lightly.

"Here you are." Ye Shi handed out a shadow stone.

"What is this?" Mu Chen released the image in the shadow stone and found that it was the whole process of making talismans by a third-level talisman maker.

"Stone, you are so smart. This thing is very useful." Mu Chen said happily.

Ye Shi forced a smile and said, "Take a good look. This is a one-time consumable shadow stone. This person inside has made a total of two talismans."

"Okay." Mu Chen said.

Ye Shi lowered his head. It cost 10,000 yuan for just such a shadow stone. That person sold it because he was a disciple of Jing Chiyan.

Ye Shi felt so bad when he spent so much money, completely different from watching Mu Chen splashing money. In the future, Ye Shi would not buy anything for Mu Chen.

Ye Shi remembered that Mu Yuanfeng had said that Mu Chen was very smart, and he could understand many things just by looking at them once. Ye Shi didn't know if what Mu Yuanfeng said was true. But at this time, he chose to believe it.

…………

Outside the Saint Star Academy, Cheng Wanbai was looking around.

Xie Danyan said helplessly, "Wanbai, don't look for him. Mu Chen is not here. It is just a dream to learn to make talismans in one day. Although making talismans may be a little easier than alchemy, but if he wants to learn it in one day, It is impossible.”

Cheng Wanbai narrowed her eyes and said, "Who exactly did Mu Chen offend? Who did this to him?!"

"Who knows? He is a bad man. He must have offended a lot of people.” Xie Danyan sneered.

Cheng Wanbai shook her head and said, "Danyan, you have a prejudice against Mu Chen. Mu Chen is really a genius."

Xie Danyan pouted, rolled her eyes, and said, "Okay, okay. If he can successfully pass the assessment of the Talisman School, I will admit that he is a genius. Okay?!"

Cheng Wanbai lowered her head and said, "No one can say it until the last moment, he won't be able to pass."

Xie Danyan rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, I'll wait and see. I'm afraid that he won’t even show up."

…………

Standing in front of the light curtain, Zhuang Yu tilted his head in confusion, "Why is Mu Chen in the talisman making group? He is obviously an alchemist!"

Lan Ruofeng stood beside Zhuang Yu and said lightly, "It's probably because he filled in wrong."

Zhuang Yu frowned, shook his head, and said, "He's too careless. How can he make such a stupid mistake."

Lan Ruofeng nodded and said, "You are right."

Zhuang Yu gritted his teeth, snorted coldly, and said, "It must be Ye Shi’s fault. Because of him, Mu Chen lost his mind when he filled out the form.”

"There is a possibility." Lan Ruofeng nodded.

"Ruofeng, what would happen if Mu Chen could not pass the examination of the Talisman?" Zhuang Yu asked worriedly.

"Probably will be kicked out." Lan Ruofeng sighed.

"What?" Zhuang Yu exclaimed, "How could this happen?"

"That is the rule of the academy." Lan Ruofeng said helplessly.

"I'm going to ask for Master Shifu’s help. Mu Chen shouldn't be kicked out." Zhuang Yu bit his lip.

Lan Ruofeng grabbed Zhuang Yu and said, "Zhuang Yu, don't be impulsive. The academy has its own rules. Even if your master Shifu is a high-level master, he can't break the rules. Besides, Mu Chen might pass the test. You can wait if he fails in the test.”

"He's an alchemist. How could he pass the test?!" Zhuang Yu shook his head and said.

Lan Ruofeng smiled and said, "The test of the Talisman School is not difficult. Maybe he can pass. You have just become the apprentice of the senior Shi Ziyu, and you beg your master Shifu for Mu Chen, your master Shifu have a bad impression on you..."

Zhuang Yu sighed lightly and said, "Okay. Let's wait and see. If he can't pass, I'll go and ask Master Shifu’s help, although I am not sure if he could help Mu Chen."

Lan Ruofeng lowered his head. Zhuang Yu actually cared about Mu Chen so much. Mu Chen rejected him again and again, but Zhuang Yu didn't seem to care at all.

It is said that the harder it was to get something, the more precious it was. Was the real Zhuang Yu actually like this? Mu Chen had already taken away Ye Shi. Would he take Zhuang Yu away too?

Zhuang Yu's eyes swept around, "Mu Chen hasn't he arrived yet?"

Lan Ruofeng nodded and said, "The Talisman School test is in the afternoon. He shouldn't arrive so soon."

Zhuang Yu bit his lips and said, "If he fails the test, he must be disappointed."

Lan Ruofeng lowered his head and said, "Maybe." Lan Ruofeng rolled his eyes secretly. Just disappointed? It would be better if he died.

…………

The test in the Alchemy School was in the morning, and the test in the Talisman School was in the afternoon.

Xie Danyan completed the assessment of the Alchemy School, and was taken by Cheng Wanbai to watch the selection on the Talisman School.

Xie Danyan looked at Cheng Wanbai impatiently, and said, "Wanbai, what are you trying to make me to see this? Mu Chen is dead this time. I don’t think he will show up at all."

"He's here." Cheng Wanbai looked into the distance and said.

Xie Danyan followed Cheng Wanbai's gaze and looked over, a bit of surprise flashed in her eyes, "He is here. He is actually here. I admire his courage."

Cheng Wanbai smiled, her eyes shining and said, "I knew he wouldn't give up easily."

Xie Danyan folded her arms, nodded, and said, "Yes, of course he will come. He has to struggle for a bit.”

Cheng Wanbai glanced at Xie Danyan and shook her head helplessly.

Ye Shi stood there uneasily, and said nervously, "It's about to start."

Mu Chen nodded and said, "Yes!"

"If you can't pass, I don't want to study there either." Ye Shi said sadly.

Mu Chen rubbed Ye Shi's head and said, "Don't be silly."

Ye Shi bit his lip and lowered his head a little dejectedly.

Mu Chen reluctantly held Ye Shi's hand, smiled, and said, "Stone, do you have so little confidence in me?"

Ye Shi raised his head and said, "I believe you."

"It's about to start. I'm off." Mu Chen smiled at Ye Shi.

Ye Shi nodded and watched Mu Chen entering the examination room.

There were two rounds of the test of the Talisman School. The first part, the written test, tested the students' basic knowledge of talisman, and the second part, talisman-making, tested the students' practical ability.

The forty minutes of the written test passed in a blink of an eye. Ye Shi stood outside the field, his hands full of sweat.

The test scores were announced ten minutes after the written test. Ye Shi couldn't wait to follow everyone to see the scores.

"Eighty-five. He actually pass, but his score is low!" Xie Danyan looked at the score list and said.

Cheng Wanbai frowned, and said, "Danyan, don't be picky. 80 is the lowest score to pass the test. Mu Chen only has one night. It's not easy to to score this."

"Passing the written test is nothing big. Passing the actual practice is the real thing." Xie Danyan pouted.

Cheng Wanbai frowned and said, "I don't know if he can succeed..."

"Learn to make talismans in one day, hehe..." Xie Danyan shook her head and smiled disapprovingly.

Cheng Wanbai frowned, and said, "I heard that the talisman-making test doesn't necessarily require success in making a talisman. If there are only a few mistakes, it can be considered a pass even if it can't be activated."

Xie Danyan nodded and said, "That's right." However, whether the talisman-making could be passed depended on the instructor. Since someone could play tricks in Mu Chen's application for schools, it was difficult to guarantee that they would do the same to the test of this talisman.

Lan Ruofeng stood in front of the light curtain, squinting his eyes. Mu Chen actually passed the written test.

Zhuang Yu stood in front of the light curtain, blinked, and said, "Mu Chen has passed the written test, which is half the success. It seems that he really has hope of success."

Lan Ruofeng squinted and looked at the light curtain, feeling depressed.Did Mu Chen really have the possibility of successfully becoming a student of the academy? If Mu Chen stayed, it was possible that his uncle was found out the one who crossed out Mu Chen’s name on the registration form. Perhaps Lan Ruofeng would be involved too. He would never let Mu Chen stay.