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"Brother Shen, Brother Shen?"

"Hmm?" Shen Yuan came back to his senses and blankly stared at the short figure before him.

"What are you daydreaming about? I’m talking to you about important matters.

.." The short figure looked discontentedly at Shen Yuan.

Despite being small, the person had exquisitely delicate features and was dressed like a scholar, but everyone knew this was the daughter of Master Du from the Foundation Principle Academy.

It was said that it all started because he indulged his daughter, letting her meddle as she pleased, but no one expected that this little girl would have an exceptional talent for arithmetic, making her stand out even at the Heavenly Institute.

Master Du, intending to call his daughter back when the matter blew up, was stopped by Lord Chen Ying, who said that the child possessed top-notch Magician talent.

This made Master Du so pleased that he couldn’t contain himself.

In truth, Shen Yuan was initially dissatisfied with the situation, but over the course of a year, he grew ever more fond of the academy’s atmosphere.

All the students came from diverse families and backgrounds, including children of scholars, rich merchants, as well as commoners and soldiers’ families.

Regardless of their status, upon arrival here everyone was judged solely by their achievements, creating an incredibly pure environment.

Every day, the students discussed the complexities of Art Calculation and formations as if nothing else in the world was worthy of discussion.

Such a pure atmosphere was truly enchanting...

"Brother Shen..." Another man chimed in from the side, "This is the first time our Heavenly Institute has produced real results, and you are one of the architects. This matter is of utmost importance; you can’t afford to be absent-minded at such a critical moment..."

"Exactly, exactly!" A group of small figures around them nodded in agreement.

Shen Yuan was startled, then couldn’t help but laugh.

Having dealt with these youngsters for a year, heavily immersed in academic exchange, he had forgotten they were still children; the eldest among them was only nineteen.

Stepping out of the academic realm immediately revealed their youthful nature. ..

However, it was also true that among the four institutions of Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Huang, theirs—Heaven—was the only one without significant achievements to boast of, which left them feeling somewhat inferior in daily interactions with students from other academies.

The Huang Academy was the most successful recently, with Lyuzhou’s Observatory Tower, the Sea God vessel, the weaving machine, and even the newly researched steam engines and cloud rail being planned for the agenda.

The progeny of engineering had gained enormous reputation in Jiangnan, and it was said that due to its acclaimed fame, there was such an overwhelming number of applicants that the academy was preparing to expand its intake by tenfold!

Then came the Mystic Academy. This year, forty-three students from Mystic Academy went out on internships, among them twenty Medical Practitioners skilled in various areas: ten proficient in surgery and ten skilled in the art of pharmaceutical alchemy.

They had now become highly sought-after assets.

The military had suggested several times that the academy train more Medical Practitioners.

These young practitioners, despite their light ranks, treated even the Warrior Generals of the War God Army with courtesy.

Then there were Agriculture Magicians, Biology Magicians, and even the least popular Material Magicians who, due to inventing a new type of fabric material last year, had suddenly risen in demand.

It was said that many wealthy merchants now hoped that their children would enter Mystic Academy, either to become a Medical Practitioner or a Material Magician.

The most awkward situation was for their Heavenly Institute...

At the beginning when results came out, the Heavenly and Earth Institutions were said to have the best qualities.

However, a year had passed with nothing to show for it.

It had been tolerable half a year ago as both institutions faced the criticism together, but then Earth Academy’s Runes Enchantment art slowly matured and could now be applied to the War God Army’s swords and sabers with astonishing effects.

Having the inside scoop, several Warrior Generals from Nanyang City took advantage of the situation during internships six months ago and snatched away a dozen practitioners!

Only their Heavenly Institute remained unapproachable...

At this rate, after the expansions in March, the Heavenly Institute might not even be able to fill its foundational quota!

"Alright, alright, I understand..." Shen Yuan chuckled: "If the outside world doesn’t recognize our value, don’t we know it ourselves? Once our Technique Formation is released, the prodigies of our Heavenly Institute will become the most sought-after Magicians in the world!"

"Yes!" The group of small figures immediately became spirited: "The most sought-after in Jiangnan..."

Shen Yuan: "...."

One had to admit, these youngsters were still too young and had spent the entire year restricted within the academy under Jiangnan’s blockade, leading them to mistakenly view Jiangnan as the entire world.

But perhaps none of them understood yet that right now, in Great Jin... no, in the entire world, they possessed extremely high value!

As someone born into a Sorcerer Family, Shen Yuan was acutely aware that the Array Masters from the Heavenly Institute would be the reformers of the Sorcerers’ Realm.

Perhaps they didn’t have the same creative force as Mystic and Huang Academies, but what they held was something that could change the current landscape of battlefields!

And it was something all Sorcerer Families would frantically compete for in the future!

His momentary distraction was due to his lack of understanding. Why reveal things so quickly, Chen Qing... By revealing this achievement, could he... could he hold his ground?

"Dean Chen!"

"Dean Chen!"

A white figure approached from a distance, and the group hastily stopped their discussion, turning to watch with ardent enthusiasm.

Chen Ying was a good teacher who patiently answered all questions about techniques from the students; her contribution in fostering such a pure academic environment at Yin Yang Academy, where one’s identity was of no relevance, had made her highly esteemed in the academy.

Even though she had never attended any banquet, whether it was the scholars or the students, all held great respect for this young female dean.

"Alright, is everyone here?" Chen Ying approached and looked at Shen Yuan: "How’s the structure? Have you sorted through it clearly?"

Shen Yuan quickly nodded: "Please be assured, Dean, I have gone through it again. There won’t be any problems."

"Don’t say things like that..." Chen Ying, however, shook her head: "The path of Technique Formations contains infinite arithmetic, and from the perspective of probability theory, there’s no guarantee of a hundred percent success rate in any operation of a formation.

If something is absolutely problem-free, then we would lose the purpose to move forward. "

"You’re right, Dean," Shen Yuan took a deep breath and nodded: "The student was being too presumptuous."

"Not so arrogant..." Chen Ying laughed, "You are the best student in the Heavenly Institute, and it’s good to be confident. Whether I can succeed this time depends on you all."

Upon hearing this, all the students puffed out their chests in pride, their faces filled with smugness. Shen Yuan, however, had a moment of haziness flash across his eyes.

He probably knew about Chen Qing’s plan, but such an important mission... Was he really willing to entrust him with a critical role?

Keep in mind, he used to be a troublemaker, a member of a Sorcerer Family, and he had... such deep entanglements with the Imperial Court. Most importantly, he had a grudge with him.

He didn’t believe Chen Qing was unaware of how important his role was in this plan, especially since the woman in charge of this Formation’s plan was Chen Qing’s woman!

But he was still willing to give such an important matter to him...

Did he think he wouldn’t screw up, or did he think he couldn’t screw up?

"News just came in, Lord Xu Hu has defeated Weichi Peng, capturing fifty thousand of the Imperial Army, and he’s on his way back. We need to hurry, there isn’t much time left!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a group of students immediately widened their eyes in excitement, exclaiming, "Really?"

"I told you Lord Xu Hu would definitely return triumphant. Hmph, those people from Nanming Prefecture won’t be able to make noise now, will they?"

"Lord Xu Hu is mighty!!"

Although the students of the academy were devoted to their studies, they were, after all, youngsters who paid attention to military affairs.

Recently, the streets of Nanming Prefecture were buzzing with discussion, especially among the wealthy merchants whose hearts sided with the Imperial Court.

They had been guiding public opinion, proclaiming that the Imperial Court would soon make a righteous comeback.

It caused quite a stir in the city, irritating these students from Lyuzhou who vehemently argued against them.

These days, the biggest debate between the people from Lyuzhou and Nanming Prefecture on the streets was about this very topic.

And to think, just a few days later, the results were in!

As expected, Lord Xu Hu did not let them down!

The group of youngsters was instantly spirited, wishing they could run down to Nanming Prefecture right away to confront those who had spoken against them.

But a few scholarly students, like Shen Yuan, who were Imperial Scholars by birth, seemed slightly stunned, their expressions exceedingly complex.

Compared to the blindly optimistic youths, they had more on their minds, deep down not wanting the Imperial Court to win, yet they were all too aware of the court’s strength.

Especially since the leader of this expedition was none other than the renowned Weichi Peng!

They had not expected... that they could really win?

Shen Yuan swallowed, Chen Qing had brought the disciples of the Heavenly Institute to Nanming Prefecture to set up a top-tier Formation that the institute had been researching for over a year.

And the reason for doing the experimentation in Nanming Prefecture was that Chen Qing.

.. intended to be the host and invite factions from all directions to gather in Nanming!

As far as he knew, these factions included the Princess Royale, who once had power over Nanming Prefecture, the current zombified ruler of the West Sea, the rebellion forces of the Duke of Wei from the north, and... the Imperial Court!

To invite such top-tier powers from all directions to one place was an insane idea; Shen Yuan even doubted Chen Qing’s sanity when he first heard about the plan!

In such chaotic times, inviting the world’s warlords to your territory for a meeting was a privilege that only a hegemon from the pre-Imperial era would have, right?

But Chen Qing was indeed daring enough to do just that!

And two prerequisites were necessary to make it happen.

First, he needed to establish authority. Without sufficient renown, why should anyone heed your call?

They should come just because you invite them? How much face do you have?

Therefore, crushing the Imperial Army was a key step; only with established authority would one have the legitimacy to play host.

Shen Yuan had not expected things to go this smoothly!

"Alright, there’s no time for you to go into the city and show off," Chen Ying saw right through what the students wanted to do, "With the Imperial Army defeated, the news will quickly reach the Imperial Court, and our time is limited.

" She looked at Shen Yuan, "Within three days, the structure must be completed. These three days, you’ll have to work hard! "

Shen Yuan snapped back to reality and quickly responded with a salute, "Rest assured, Lord Chen Ying, this student... will definitely meet expectations!!"

The second condition... to gather top-tier forces from all quarters, one needed sufficient deterrence; otherwise, hosting such formidable individuals would be incredibly risky. If you couldn’t suppress them, the meeting might turn into a discussion on how to divide up your territory!

And the key... lay in the work they were about to undertake!!