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"Why... why are you taking away my daughter?"

Yun Yuye was shocked and hurriedly shielded her daughter behind her.

"Madam Yun, there’s no need to be alarmed..." The man from the Mystic Academy quickly tried to comfort her, then frowned and turned to Shen Yuan, "Senior Brother, what exactly is going on?"

Nowadays, many of the academy’s research projects were short-staffed, and each academy hoped to recruit students with good qualifications to help complete the projects. This year, although Dean Chen had allocated thousands of places to the academy, upon careful calculation, it was still not enough.

Just a few days ago, the senior sister who led their own project had stressed repeatedly, imploring them to recruit any promising youngsters; and now, here was someone acting so unreasonably, truly resorting to snatching talent by force!

Shen Yuan remained silent, and promptly presented a magician’s decree from Dean Chen, "The Dean has ordered that due to the urgency of the situation, any disciples with suitable talents are to be directly enrolled into the Heavenly Institute to support Nanming Prefecture.

This matter is of national importance and is not open to negotiation! "

The man from the Mystic Academy and the youth from the Huang Academy were both stunned, having never encountered such a situation before, but the decree presented was indeed genuine.

It seemed that the situation in Nanming Prefecture was not going smoothly!

Although they didn’t know the particulars of the grand project of the Heavenly Institute, they were still somewhat aware of it, especially since a few days earlier, a Senior Brother from the Earth Institute nearly worked himself to death rushing the production of energy rune stones to assist with this project.

The name of that project was "Heaven’s Canopy," said to be a top-tier array capable of completely enveloping an entire city within it – just the thought of it was awe-inspiring. They had planned to visit Nanming Prefecture to witness it themselves after the recruitment was over.

But based on Shen Yuan’s tone, things there were not proceeding smoothly.

Moreover... what would they do with this little girl?

Despite her excellent innate art calculation talent, the girl had yet to begin her training.

The artistry of the Heavenly Institute was known to be the most difficult to master.

In the past two years, disciples from both the Mystic and Huang Academies could already go out and organize grand projects on their own; for example, Senior Sister Huang Ying could alone oversee a huge shipyard in Yunzhou City, constructing the latest military ships.

However, disciples of the Heavenly Institute, even someone with long-standing recognition like Shen Yuan, still had no personal projects to showcase, illustrating the difficulty they faced.

Now, that the Heavenly Institute’s first major project was unveiled, only those who had completed at least a year of study and ranked in the top fifty were eligible to participate.

A colleague from the Heavenly Institute whom he befriended, whose foundation in natural philosophy and arithmetic was even above his own, did not even qualify.

And yet they were considering sending a little girl there?

Looking at their puzzled expressions, Shen Yuan found himself at a loss for words for a moment.

It wasn’t until entering the Heavenly Institute that one would realize that Array Masters were a category of magicians that truly depended on innate talent.

According to the Dean, besides art calculation talent, Array Masters also relied heavily on a gift known as Spirit Perception – that is, those born with the ability to see the flow of spiritual power, or those with the Innate Spiritual Eye, were especially suited.

It was common knowledge that powerful magicians could unlock Spirit Eye, but Spirit Eye induced by one’s own spiritual power not only consumed a great deal of energy but also affected judgment in the flow of spiritual power within arrays.

Naturally born with Spirit Eye, however, was different.

These individuals could always see significant flows of spiritual power, possessing a pure quality, providing a natural advantage when locating the crucial points of an array or maintaining its operation.

Currently, in the entire Heavenly Institute, not one possessed this talent, including Dean Chen.

Accordingly, the Dean had drawn an invisible array at the entrance of the institute, which could be seen by the naked eye only by those with this gift.

Shen Yuan was responsible for recruiting for the Heavenly Institute this time.

However, he had received a message the day before, ordering him to lead the remaining Heaven Academy Disciples to support Nanming Prefecture.

The situation was clearly pessimistic, and he had not anticipated discovering the person Dean Chen had so urgently sought, just as they were about to depart.

Ignoring the questioning looks from Xuan Yuan, Shen Yuan turned towards the little girl, his tone as gentle as possible, "Child, do you often see some strange things, like colorful lights or perhaps, some very peculiar bugs and the like?"

Upon hearing this, the girl’s eyes widened in amazement, staring at him.

Yun Yuye was equally astonished.

Ke’er’s secret was known to very few people!

As a child, Ke’er was unlike other children, often chasing after the air as if something invisible was playing with her.

This behavior had frightened many children in the village and prompted whispers among the neighbors.

Later, having earned a bit of money as a peddler, her husband considered Ke’er’s damaged reputation and decided to move the family to a town in the northern part of Yunzhou. From then on, she strictly instructed Ke’er never to speak of seeing strange things in front of others.

They had consulted numerous doctors, and according to them, Ke’er had a "light barrier" in her eyes, which was why she saw strange things. Over the years, Ke’er gradually learned to ignore these visions.

But today, her old issue had resurfaced.

When she pointed at the entrance and asked what was there, Yun Yuye had nearly slapped her, just as she would have done when Ke’er was younger.

Yet to the scholar from the institute, it seemed there really was something there!

"It seems that there is..." Shen Yuan nodded, "Rare indeed. Dean Chen looked all over Lyuzhou to find such talent, and yet, it appears in Yunzhou..."

"This... Sir, who are you?" Yun Yuye calmed herself and asked cautiously.

"Oh, madam, you needn’t worry," the man from the Mystic Academy finally caught on and quickly introduced, "Senior Brother Shen is one of the first batch of disciples of our Heavenly Institute and is also a Second Place Scholar previously appointed by the Imperial Court.

His academic accomplishments are unmatched by many within our entire academy. "

"I have only just begun, so I cannot speak of any academic achievements," Shen Yuan waved his hand, then turned to Yun Yuye: "Mrs. Yun, right?

Your daughter has a special talent and is excellent Array Master material, which our Heaven Academy will surely require.

If you have any concerns, Mrs. Yun, you can discuss them with me now.

I will try to negotiate with the higher-ups as much as possible. "

Yun Yuye was taken aback. She hadn’t expected her daughter’s childhood eye disease to actually be a talent?

From the other party’s tone, she sensed that her child was to be of great use.

Therefore, she hastily asked, "But... what exactly are you going to have my child do? Will there be any risks?"

If there were any risks, she would rather forego this so-called important use; it would be quite enough for her child to become a physician.

Shen Yuan glanced at her and inwardly nodded, seeing that she was indeed a mother who valued her daughter.

He quickly reassured, "Please rest assured, madam. Your daughter possesses an extraordinary talent, one in ten thousand. In Nan Ming Prefecture, she will certainly be a highly protected individual, and there will be no danger whatsoever."

"As for her future prospects, madam need not worry either. Although our Heaven Academy has not yet demonstrated results, it is only because what we study is difficult to learn and master, and no project has yet emerged in the short term. However, in terms of internal importance, Heaven Academy holds the highest status without any doubt. Lord Chen has invested the most resources and recruited the best students to establish Heaven Academy; he certainly won’t allow the students’ futures to be compromised! "

The other two fell silent. First, the man was a senior, and it was not their place to contradict him. Second, what he said was not wrong. Although many people were puzzled by it, it was a fact that the Heaven Academy disciples really did consume the most resources.

The academy had its exclusive financial statements.

In the past year, among the four academies – Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Huang, the Mystic and Huang Academies had produced the most projects and earned the most money.

Yet, the investment that the academy reimbursed was not the highest. On the contrary, though Heaven Academy had no current outputs, according to the financial statements, the investment it received was already more than that of both Mystic and Huang Academies combined. ..

This was even a point of complaint among some students, but the reality was... the academy... valued the Heaven and Earth Academies more!

"Mr. Shen, you just mentioned that my Ke’er has to go with you to Nanming Prefecture now?" Yun Yuye ventured to ask.

She remembered that the scoundrel of a man also seemed to be heading to Nanming Prefecture.

He did not tell her, but the ship he borrowed money to hire was bound for Nanming and bore the seal of Nanming.

"Yes," Shen Yuan nodded: "Currently, our Heaven Academy has its very first array project down there in Nan Ming Prefecture, and your daughter’s talent is essential in helping us locate the shifting Array Eyes and replenish the energy in a timely manner.

It is crucial. Hence, I am afraid we must depart immediately. "

"So soon?" Yun Yuye exclaimed: "My child has never left my side, and this trip is all the more unsettling as she is going to a distant place like Nan Ming. I cannot rest easy unless I accompany her!"

"That..." Shen Yuan frowned but eventually nodded: "Very well, Mrs. Yun, if you are not at ease, you may accompany us to Nanming Prefecture. However, the arrays are military secrets, and I am afraid you won’t be allowed to join us once we are working on them."

"At least let me accompany my child as far as Nanming Prefecture."

"That can be arranged. Do you have anything to prepare? If not, we can set off right now."

"There’s nothing too important, just some clothes. If you’re not in a hurry, Lord Shen, I will just go back to the inn to fetch them."

"Alright..."

"Um... Senior Brother Shen, are you personally going to Nan Ming?" A man from Mystic Academy quickly asked: "Without you, who will be in charge of Heaven Academy’s enrollment exam?"

"Heaven Academy will not enroll students this time," Shen Yuan waved his hand: "Currently, since Heaven Academy hasn’t produced any projects, enrolling new students won’t be effective either. I know what you’re after, so go ahead and take the spots.

Your Mystic Academy is already popular, no need for these tricks. "

"Heh heh... well, you see... we’re short-staffed?"

"Being short-staffed does not mean we should admit mediocrity. We must maintain strict standards," Shen Yuan glared: "Didn’t you hear what Lord Chen said? That’s why this time the academy is only admitting a thousand. Because our finances can only support a thousand magicians like us. If we ignore the circumstances and just blindly recruit, not only will the academy fail to ensure the quality of our scholarly research but once they leave, there may not be enough positions available for them. If some savvy businessmen deliberately devalue and recruit them, and someone capitulates, what will become of the academy disciples’ status over time? "

"Senior Brother is right," the Mystic Academy man acknowledged, bowing his head.

Shen Yuan nodded: "Those who come to this academy possess an exceptional talent and diligently concentrate on their studies. They stand out from thousands of students to earn this opportunity. If in the end, they find themselves with no role to play, wouldn’t it be a joke?

Remember this: we have all struggled greatly to get into this academy to change our fates.

If the academy can’t guarantee that, then how can we ever hope to outshine Capital City’s Yin Yang Academy? "

"Yes... it was I who was too hasty," the man admitted.

"Very well, off you go. Indeed, the Medical Academy is short on people; you may rightfully recruit more. The spots allotted for Heaven Academy will be transferred to Mystic Academy. As for Huang Academy, it’s too hot recently, there are too many applicants, and it has already exceeded the plans of Lord Chen.

The cap is set at three hundred; no more should be admitted! "

"Yes..." the young man from Huang Academy quickly agreed as well.

After Shen Yuan had finished advising and saw the others with a correct attitude, he gave a slight nod. Then he turned to Yun Yuye: "Mrs. Yun, shall we depart then?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

-----------------------------

"They’ve left the city!"

At the harbor, aboard a moored ship, a group of anxious women in black awaited news. That’s when a figure quickly entered the cabin, excitedly reporting, "That wretched woman has left the city with her daughter!"