Escorting Her To The Quarter

"Next apprentice."

Lanying glanced at the entrance as the edict resounded.

"Come in, I will show you the way." Changmin spoke rather gracefully. As if the hooligan just a few moments was his imposter.

A bit amused, she followed him.

Xiao Fei stood there silently. It was as if there was a tacit understanding between them. And he couldn't break into their world.

'Monkey Girl, why do you know the crown prince? I thought we could be friends.' He muttered under his breath, appearing to be forsaken.

—--------------------

"Felicitations! You have joined "Bright Stone" with the highest grade in the assessment."

The elderly man spoke with excitement flipping through the pages of the assessment paper suspended mid-air right in front of him.

An Lanying grinned widely at him. She expected the scholars to be all strict and cold. That was a logical conclusion drawn from the evaluation letter. Who knew the first encounter would be so warm?

"Which means, you get a chance to pick an additional guild. Say what magical element fascinates you the most? Wind? Water? Or divination? This is my forte." The elderly man spoke again. His aged hands stroked his long white beard. One he seemed quite proud of.

"Divination and wind!" Lanying replied almost instantaneously. Divination, a unique branch of magic, stood apart from the elemental arts. As for wind mastery, it promised the fluid execution of levitation skills that had eluded her grasp. Furthermore, it was an exclusive instruction found only within the secretive walls of Bright Stone.

"Eh? One, only one, young lady." Wang Xinyu emphasized.

"Oh!"

Seeing her crestfallen appearance, he stroked his beard once again.

"How about this, enroll into the wind for now. And visit me in the divination chamber every day and I will personally teach you everything in the course."

Lanying nodded her head immediately. Could it get any better? She was just pushing her luck asking for two magic skills. Tch tch if she knew this old man was so amicable, she would have asked for three.

Wang Xinyu felt excited about accepting an apprentice after years. This young lad was promising as well but nowhere as pleasing to the eyes as this young lady.

Changmin kept his eyes locked on the woman, eager to learn. If only she didn't have this identity...

"This will be your additional guild's token from now. Remember to guard it carefully."

Lanying carefully held the token in her hands.

The academic token, skillfully crafted with Etheralivory, had a smooth, polished surface, comfortable to touch. Her name character was carved at the center fold. Caressing the etching gently she resolutely made a promise in her heart.

"You, lad, go see if any more disciples are there."

The old man instructed carelessly, waving his hand at the man dismissively.

Changmin was left momentarily speechless. How had he ended up being treated like a servant? He wouldn't have joined this damned academy, if not for the investigation. Well, he could at least keep a watchful eye on the heiress of the An family.

Scoring the same grade as him, she sure has the potential. His gaze turned somber.

"Elder, rest assured, I have checked previously. All the other disciples have been assigned to their respective covens already. Allow me to escort Lady Lanying to her quarter first." He bent to pick up her belongings.

Lanying frowned. How did he know her name? The academic pass was submitted in front of the entrance. He wasn't there. Not to mention, he was in the same academic year as her, not in the senior year. So it's not possible for him to have access to the list of enrollers in advance as well.

Even Wang Xinyu felt intrigued. He hadn't handed out the list of enrolled apprentices to this guy yet.

Feeling the curious eyes on him, Yan Changmin felt like hitting himself. How could he be so careless? However, he didn't let it show. With seamless composure, he proceeded to gather her belongings, finally shifting his attention toward Lanying,

"The highest scorer right? The tally of records has your name engraved on the very top. Want to take a look before going to your quarter?"

'So that was it.' Lanying relaxed. She was thinking too much. How else would he know? The man outside said he is a crown prince right? Why would a crown prince bother himself with investigating her?

Wang Xinyu merely nodded his head in agreement. Anyways, he had heard how much of a troublemaker this young prince could be. Had he not seen his explosive elemental power and analyzing command, he wouldn't have shot himself in the foot by inviting him to the academy.

But why did he bother himself with accompanying this lass? He clearly showed no intention of doing so for the previous batch. No no no, he is not going to let this whimsical spoiled brat ruin an innocent lady like her. He thought to himself adamantly.