Chapter 185
“Good.” Hearing these words, the professors nodded their heads.
They glanced at each other and all had an idea in their hearts.
The professors were actually clear that for a D-level cadet’s examination, the school councilor would come that was simply exalted, much less actually condescending to come and give the questions.
But what shocked them the most was that this school councilor was so young.
Before this, they hadn’t heard of any school councilors.
After all, Norton University was different from other universities, mysterious and secretive, yet it was able to rank among the world’s top positions.
No one was sure about the source of funding behind Norton University either, but there was always no explicit funder.
So unlike other co-operative schools and public schools, there is a board of trustees that can decide on all the major matters of the university.
All the big things at Norton University are decided by the headmaster alone.
Now there’s a new trustee, a girl, and she’s not the headmaster’s granddaughter, is she?
But the professors had never actually met the headmaster, and it was unclear whether there had been a change of term, or how old the headmaster was.
“Student He, please prepare for one minute.” A professor looked at his watch and said, “We will take turns to ask you questions.”
He Xun was still frozen back in his tracks.
He looked at the girl and his nerves, which had been tense, snapped straight away.
It was as if one thunderbolt after another had exploded in his mind, exploding into a wasteland that shook his heart and mind, causing it to collapse all at once.
This time, it wasn’t an open quiz at Qingzhi, much less a midterm, or a cla*sroom.
The girl sat on top, clearly not looking down, but it made He Xun feel an unprecedented pressure and humility.
The pride and excellence he was so proud of was also crushed at this moment.
It was struck cleanly, not a bit left.
Ying Zidian was a trustee of Norton University?
But wasn’t she just an adopted daughter of the Ying family, an ordinary person from the countryside?
How could such a person have anything to do with Norton University?
He Xun could not believe it, as his blood flowed backwards.
“Student He?” The professor who asked the question noticed that something was wrong with him, “Student He, don’t be nervous, you have one more minute.”
He Xun nodded mechanically, not even knowing how his voice came out, “Yes, Professor.”
But this minute of time made him even more on pins and needles.
Especially since the person he had always despised had now become an existence he had to look up to.
He Xun was completely unable to accept it.
“Student He, the question I asked is related to alchemy.” When the minute was up, the professor spoke, “In your fourth year, you have an elective course called the origin of alchemy.”
“As you know, alchemy is a medieval philosophical idea and originator of chemistry, and the prototype of contemporary chemistry; a number of famous scientists throughout history have studied alchemy and advanced chemistry, but current science denies its existence.”
“The first question, please tell us what you know about alchemy, and the second question, in your opinion, does alchemy exist?”
For this examination, He Xun had prepared a lot of information.
But he didn’t expect at all that coming up would be a question related to alchemy.
It was a senior elective, and it had nothing to do with the major, so who would listen carefully?
“I …… alchemy, well, it ……” He Xun struggled to recall, “its goal is, is to transform base metals into precious metals, and then, there ……”
Hearing this, the professors shook their heads.
Although they weren’t going to force the students of the D-level college to understand this, this kind of answer really didn’t look like the elite that went out from Norton University.
“Stumbling speech, not a bit of logic, no serious attitude.” Finally, Ying Ziji’s eyes fell on He Xun once more, “If it’s so casual, you might as well not have to take the exam.”
She raised her hand and pointed at the door.
There was no joy, no anger, no hint of emotion in her words, they were very light.
“Get out.”
The moment these three words came out, not to mention He Xun, even the four professors were startled.
The last string in He Xun’s head snapped, and he looked up sharply: “Why should I get out? I don’t know, do you know?”
“I don’t need to know.” Ying propped his head up, looking lazy, “If you’re really capable, you can take this position, you don’t have to roll.”
There was nothing more damaging than having one’s words once spoken and being served back in full.
He Xun’s face was pale and miserable, and his expression was even more wretched.
He walked out in a disoriented manner, even his steps were weak, stumbling and almost falling over.
“Go on, you guys.” Ying got up and left through the back door.
The four professors looked at each other for a moment, then proceeded to call for numbers.
**
The vice-principal waited outside.
He wasn’t afraid, as no trainee knew him anyway.
When he saw the girl come out, the vice-principal was busy greeting her: “Why did you have to come to the D level side of the examination? I’ve told you, there’s nothing to see.”
“It’s nothing.” Ying Zidian inclined her head and smiled lightly, “Helping someone to take revenge.”
If he touches her, he can tolerate it.
Bullying her brother, that’s not acceptable.
The vice-principal was taken aback: “Who would dare to touch your people?”
The situation was too complicated, so Ying didn’t explain, but just said, “I’ll stay here for two more days, help me get my pill furnace and make a pair of pills for you.”
Although the alchemy of the O Continent and the ancient medicine of China both exist in the same way, the difference is quite big.
What alchemy can’t save, ancient medicine can.
After a gap of more than two hundred years, Ying was not sure what the alchemy and ancient medicine worlds were like now.
But before, the Alchemy and Ancient Medicine worlds would send people to each other’s territories every once in a while to exchange.
“Hey, good good!” The vice-principal slapped his thigh, “I’ll go and prepare right now.”
After running a few steps in the wind, he seemed to remember something, “Say, since you’re back, why don’t you stay here?”
“There’s also an SS level college in the school which is the astrology department, or else I’ll give you the position of dean and you can teach the students?”
Hearing this, Ying pulled the brim of his hat down: “Oh, you didn’t actually notice that I’m already dead.”
“……”
**
Because there were five hundred people, the examination for the students of the d-level academy lasted for three days.
And as the professors expected, only nine people ended up pa*sing the test, all the rest failed and were to have their degree certificates revoked.
The cadets were very disappointed, but they could only accept it.
They were unable to answer the questions on alchemy and astrology, as they had not been listening to some of the lessons.
As they moved out of the school’s temporary accommodation building, a few cadets whispered.
“But what’s up with He Xun? His name is listed directly on the school’s campus extranet.”
“Isn’t that just giving people the message that he’s been expelled from the school? It’s too tragic.”
He Xun likewise couldn’t accept it.
Of course he knew who had authorised the school to do this.
But he wanted to see Ying Zigui, but he couldn’t see him at all.
“Mr. He, not to mention that you are no longer a student of the school, even if you were, the trustee is not something you can just see.” The professor at the door stopped him with a very formulaic smile, “May I ask what qualifications you have, screaming for a meeting with the school governor?”
“She’s not fair!” Apart from the humiliation and, more than anything, He Xun felt angry, “Both failed the test, how come I’m treated differently from others?!”
This was clearly telling the world that he was not a student of Norton University anymore.
“The trustee said that it depends on what you have done before, Mr. He.” The professor said politely, “Treating others the same way as others, Mr. He is from China, does Mr. He understand this?”
He Xun’s expression stiffened.
Recalling one thing he had done in Qingzhi, the blood on his face faded little by little.
At first he didn’t like a student like Ying Zigui, it was because she was poor in studies.
Later it was because she was too noble and followed the school bully to bully her cla*smates.
So he would treat her differently.
“Oh, by the way, Mr. He, the school governor specifically asked me to bring you a message.” The professor pushed up his gla*ses and smiled again, “She said that she is capable of more than you think.”
“There’s another thing that you need to see as well.”
Saying that, the professor placed a copy of the document in front of He Xun, and reminded, “Remember to return it to me after reading it.”
He Xun’s back tensed up for a long time before he turned out this document.
It was a letter of acceptance.
Unlike the invitation letter, the letter of acceptance was the official document issued by Norton University and would also be recorded on the academic register.
The letter of invitation only invites students selected by Norton University to come to Norton University, and only after a visit will a letter of acceptance be issued.
This is something even more rare than an invitation letter.
He Xun looked stiff as he lowered his head and saw the words on the acceptance letter.
Norton University ss level college.
Department of Mechanics, Wen Listen Lan.
Chapter 186
“……”
This name, it seemed, took away all the sounds around it.
He Xun’s mind was once again blown blank, and he couldn’t even stand still.
The fingers holding this copy of the acceptance letter kept trembling as well.
Although He Xun was a cadet of a D-cla*s academy and couldn’t lift to the core of Norton University, he also knew that the SS-cla*s academy hadn’t recruited any cadets for a long time.
So, this was the only ss-ranked cadet that Norton University had recruited in the last three years, Wen Huilan!
When the professor saw that He Xun had been dazed, he directly jerked the copy of the admission letter away from him.
Only when his hand was empty did He Xun gradually come back to his senses, his voice hard as hell: “The councilor …… can just stuff people into ss-level colleges?”
If Ying Ziyi hadn’t opened the back door for Wen Huilan, would Wen Huilan have been able to enter the SS level academy, or the mechanical department?
Even if he was sure that Wen Huilan could get into Norton University, it would still be an A grade at most.
Ss level?
Not enough to qualify at all.
“Mr. He, are you starting to talk nonsense because you have a fever?” Hearing this, the professor was exasperated and his expression cooled down, “The school’s admission rules are set by the headmaster and will never be changed or backed down because of anyone.”
He simply moved over the computer and placed it in front of He Xun, pointing to a document.
“Wen Listen Lan, with an IQ of 228, second only to those genius scientists in history, he has great hands-on skills, and can restore a third-order Rubik’s Cube in less than three seconds.”
“At the age of five, he could already disa*semble a broken Walkman, take out the broken parts and put it back together, and the Walkman could still be listened to next.”
At the end of his speech, the professor was also at peace: “Mr. He, tell me instead, does such a genius need to go through the back door to enter the SS Extreme Academy?”
If it wasn’t a good fit, Ying wouldn’t have sent Wen Huilan to the mechanical department.
Anyway, the alchemy and supernatural departments were excluded from her in the first place.
In these two departments, even the most normal person would be a madman.
The students and professors of the mechanical department are responsible for Norton University’s technology being ahead of the outside world.
He Xun looked at the records on the document, his lips moved, but he could not say a word.
With such a powerful analytical ability, Wen Hailan was indeed a genius among geniuses.
“By the way, Mr. He.” The professor pushed his gla*ses, “I heard that after you graduated, the job you chose was a high school teacher, and the school you taught at seemed to be the same one as Wen Listenlan’s cla*smate, right?”
He Xun still didn’t respond.
Unprecedented regret filled his heart, suffocating it to the point of almost exploding.
He could even think that if he hadn’t taken away Wen Huilan’s interview qualification and brought Wen Huilan to Norton University instead.
Then he would have been the first teacher to teach an SS-rated student.
Not only would he not have had his degree revoked, but he would also have been given the chance to stay in school.
But now there was nothing left.
Without a degree from Norton University, a top Chinese high school like Qingzhi would not even hire him.
There was almost nowhere to go.
“The word has been brought, and I have to go and teach the students.” The professor glanced at the watch on his wrist, “Mr. He, just a reminder, the last underground tonight is at 9:30, don’t miss it.”
**
Norton University’s campus extranet and intranet were different.
The intranet is only available to students and professors on campus, the extranet is open to the world.
As the number one ranked university in the world, Norton University’s official campus website is naturally of great interest to the outside world.
Even if it is just an announcement of the withdrawal of a degree.
Last year there was one, but it didn’t have a name, just a number.
This year, however, the announcement was very different, with a sentence that reads
After careful consideration, the university has decided to revoke the degree certificates of 679 students, including He Xun].
The name He Xun immediately drew the attention of many people, including some bigwigs.
But it was also at most an impression, which was forgotten after a few days.
A person whose degree certificate had been revoked by Norton University was also worthy of their thoughts?
He didn’t deserve it at all.
But on the side of Qingzhi High School, because He Xun had also taken three students to Norton University for an interview, there was a bit more attention.
“Headmaster, we’ve been cheated!” The head teacher slapped the table and was indignant, “This is still Norton University giving a buffer period of a few years, if there was no buffer period, He Xun wouldn’t even be able to get his degree certificate.”
“In that case, he’s not even considered a graduate of Norton University.”
It P*ssed him off.
The school’s finances were also under his control.
When Qingzhi had hired He Xun at a high price, he had been offered 180,000 for a month’s salary.
The head teacher felt that he had fed the money to the dogs.
“It’s only good that it’s not.” The headmaster nodded, “If it is, I need to question the quality of education at Norton University.”
If things hadn’t finally come to light, he wouldn’t have known that He Xun had been able to force several poorly-educated students to transfer.
The more he thought about it, the angrier the Academic Dean became, “No, I’m going to sue him for fraud!”
After saying that, he grumbled and left the headmaster’s office.
**
This way.
Ying Zidian got her medicine stove.
It wasn’t too big, and the backpack just fit.
She took some more herbs from the medicinal herb garden over at the medicinal herb department.
The Department of Medicinal Herbs was an S-rank college, but any student who graduated from the Department of Medicinal Herbs was an attending physician in the world’s major hospitals, even if they were bad.
Alchemy, too, is a compulsory course in the Department of Medicinal Herbs.
After she finished fetching herbs, Ying finally looked up: “It’s been seven days, where’s Norton?”
Unknown to the outside world, the name of Norton University sounded quite high end and cla*sy, but in fact the name was a certain headmaster who had casually used his own name at the beginning.
“Eh? I haven’t seen the headmaster for a long time either.” The vice-principal also seemed to have just remembered this, “It seems like a few months.”
There hadn’t been any more new SS level cadets, also because Norton, the old alchemy nut, had disappeared and hadn’t even put his heart into opening the school.
“It seems,” Ying nodded slowly, regretfully, “that alchemy can’t cure Alzheimer’s either.”
The vice-principal who had been stabbed straight in the heart: “……”
“No, I can’t be blamed for that.” The vice-principal really felt he was genuinely innocent, “It’s not like you don’t know that once the headmaster starts playing with alchemy, he locks himself in his room and doesn’t come out.”
“He’s got a lot of poisonous stuff around that room, I wouldn’t dare go near it here, so I forgot about it over time.”
He studied supernatural science, he didn’t know anything about alchemy.
Ying Zigui put on his backpack, without much expression, “Show me.”
The vice-principal knew that the big man in front of him knew all about alchemy and ancient medicine.
But what stood out most was the use of poison.
So the vice-principal didn’t even think about it, and immediately took the girl to the place.
It was a very high tower, and even though the sun was warm in the afternoon, it gave people a very depressing feeling.
Ying looked around, “This way.”
The vice-principal hurriedly followed, jumping into the tower like a jumping lattice.
One by one, they went up a spinning staircase and arrived at the highest floor.
Ying took a pair of white gloves out of his pocket and put them on before pressing his hand on the door and pushing it open.
The wind swept in through the topmost window, blowing the scrap of paper on the floor.
There was no one there.
Ying closed her eyes for a few seconds and then turned her head: “Where is everyone?”
She had just looked at the past ten days and nothing had changed here.
In other words, Norton had been gone for a long time.
The vice-principal came in with big steps and was also taken aback when he saw what was inside: “I swear, the last time I saw the headmaster, he was here and he definitely hadn’t gone out either.”
Ying Zigui was faint: “If he were to go out, you wouldn’t be able to find out.”
The vice-principal shut up.
That was true.
Norton wasn’t just highly skilled in alchemy, he could also disguise himself.
The nok forum also had a list of disguisers, and although Norton wasn’t listed in it, his disguise skills were definitely no less than the top five.
A disguise artist of this level could easily change his body shape.
Ying Ziji lowered his eyelashes and pondered for a moment, “Tarot cards, bring them.”
The vice-principal froze for a moment and ran out to fetch the tarot cards from the Astrology Department.
The tarot cards circulating in the market were fake, but they were all real at Norton University.
It didn’t take long for the Vice-Chancellor to go and return.
He was carrying several boxes, “See which one you want.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Ying took a box at random, “It doesn’t matter.”
There were 78 Tarot cards, 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards.
She still used the Major Arcana.
After shuffling the cards, the 22 cards were laid out in a row on the table.
Ying Ziji bowed her head and raised her hand and swept it slowly over these cards.
Three cards, automatically, were sucked onto the palm of her hand.
She put the three cards to the side and turned them over one by one.
When she saw the first two cards, the vice-principal was able to remain calm.
When the third card came out, his face changed with a swish.