Seeing that Ye Wei had yet to answer, Lin Ziyan asked again expectantly, "How do you think this magical power should be perfected?" She clearly hoped Ye Wei would give her a response.
"This…" Ye Wei hesitated, considering how to respond vaguely.
Dong—Dong—Dong—
Just then, the low chimes of the class bell echoed through the room.
Class had ended!
Ye Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Lin Ziyan.
"Miss Ziyan, class is over. Perhaps we can discuss this next time?" Ye Wei scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile.
Now that class was dismissed, he didn't need to worry. Miss Ziyan was only a substitute teacher who taught infrequently—he had escaped!
"Everyone else may head to your next class. Ye Wei, come with me!" Lin Ziyan called.
Ye Wei hadn't expected that Lin Ziyan wouldn't let him go just because class was over. With no choice, he could only follow her helplessly out of the classroom.
As soon as the two left, the classroom burst into commotion.
"I never thought Ye Wei, who always seemed so mediocre, would have such a powerful soul perception!"
"With a soul that strong, Miss Ziyan might be planning to introduce him to a master of the Sacred Pattern!"
Everyone was envious. They had all once looked down on Ye Wei for only possessing a Red-level Soul Sea, but now, they could only look up to him.
Cao Ning and a few others who had a good relationship with Ye Wei were genuinely happy for him, though they, too, were filled with envy.
"Shut up, all of you!" Xiao Qi slammed his palm on the desk. His arms trembled with tension. The person he used to mock now stood above him, admired by everyone. He felt a deep sense of bitterness and resentment.
Why? Why wasn't I born with powerful soul perception? Why isn't Miss Ziyan looking at me like that?! Xiao Qi's heart burned with jealousy.
Lin Ziyan was only fifteen, already a ten-star apprentice on the verge of becoming a warrior. She was beautiful, graceful, and practically flawless. In the hearts of many admirers at Southstar Academy, there were no more than three students who could possibly be worthy of her—and Ye Wei obviously wasn't one of them!
Though Miss Ziyan was gentle with everyone, she always maintained a polite distance that discouraged closeness. Yet now, she was actually walking side-by-side with a boy. Naturally, this drew the attention of many Southstar students. Countless curious eyes followed them, speculating about the identity of the boy behind her.
Feeling all those stares, Ye Wei couldn't help but think—whoever ended up as Lin Ziyan's boyfriend would need an extremely strong heart. Otherwise, they'd struggle under the pressure of all that jealousy and hostility.
Fortunately, Ye Wei was not that person.
They followed a cobbled path through most of the campus until they arrived in front of the Blue Orchid Courtyard.
This courtyard was one of the elite female dormitories at Southstar Academy. Only students in the senior division who had reached the warrior realm—or extremely talented girls on the verge of breaking through—were permitted to live there. Although Lin Ziyan was technically not in the senior division, she was a rare genius on the cusp of becoming a warrior, so she naturally qualified to reside there.
Southstar Academy consisted of 38 primary classes, 36 intermediate classes, 25 senior classes, and a separate elite division. Out of 5,370 students, fewer than a hundred were qualified to live in the Blue Orchid Courtyard. It was a place reserved for only the most exceptional.
As Ye Wei looked at the elegant, three-story classical structure, a familiar figure appeared in his mind. A faint, bitter smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Come in," Lin Ziyan said, glancing back at Ye Wei as she led the way inside.
"Alright," Ye Wei nodded faintly and followed Miss Ziyan into the fabled Blue Orchid Courtyard.
"I once swore to myself that I'd never set foot in this place again…" he muttered under his breath.
The name "Lin Ya" surfaced in his thoughts. With a soft sigh, Ye Wei shook his head.
Time could change a person, could cause two people once close to drift further and further apart. But he would not remain stagnant. Clenching his fists, he raised his head with a glint of determination in his eyes.
Ye Wei followed Lin Ziyan into a quiet courtyard, and they soon stood before a refined, elegant building. Ye Wei couldn't help but feel amazed—he hadn't expected Lin Ziyan to have her own private residence here. Regular students were typically assigned to shared dormitories. This level of privilege was extraordinary.
Clearly, Lin Ziyan's status was anything but ordinary!
They entered a spacious training room. Lin Ziyan moved with practiced ease, using the power of divine intent as her brush, Yuan Power as her ink, and her jade-like finger to draw the patterns. In the blink of an eye, she had sketched thirty-six lines of divine runes, forming the shape of the Three Tides Palm, a beginner-level magical technique.
"Ye Wei, can you point out where the Three Tides Palm is flawed?" Lin Ziyan asked once again, unwilling to give up.
"Miss Ziyan, if I'm not mistaken, the flaw in the spell was intentionally left by you. Is it really that important for me to explain how to fix it?" Ye Wei smiled slightly.
"Of course it's important! If you can correct it, I'll personally recommend you to become the disciple of a Divine Pattern Master!" Lin Ziyan nodded solemnly. "If you can't, then I'll refer you to another master."
Ye Wei was visibly moved. Lin Ziyan was genuinely trying to help him.
Even though he had once been lazy, sleeping through her lectures and interrupting her class, she never gave up on him. Now that he had demonstrated his talent, she was even willing to go so far as to connect him with a master of the Sacred Patterns.
Though she was only a substitute teacher, she had already done far more for Ye Wei than any of his other instructors.
A sense of sincere respect for Lin Ziyan rose in Ye Wei's heart.
No longer wishing to conceal his ability, Ye Wei finally said, "Miss Ziyan, there are three very obvious errors in the magical technique you just demonstrated."
Ye Wei looked toward the thirty-six softly glowing divine runes suspended in the air. Taking two steps forward, he stood beside Lin Ziyan, ready to point out the three flaws that, to him, were glaringly apparent.
Previously, Ye Wei had assumed Lin Ziyan already knew he'd spotted all three errors.
"You saw three mistakes?!" Lin Ziyan's eyes widened in shock. After a brief moment of silence, she stared at him in disbelief. She had only intentionally left one flaw. How could Ye Wei have found three?