Chapter 60: Chapter 58: Mr. Mo Ning, You’re Truly a Remarkable Person
Reina had a very lively and passionate personality. One moment, her face was a mask of grievance, still smarting from being ripped off while haggling, and the next, she had tossed the unpleasantness to the winds.
The Dazed Girl asked in a cheerful tone, "Mr. Mo Ning, where should we go next?"
Mo Ning said nothing.
He was waiting for the Noble Lady to speak first.
He couldn’t just ignore Anya now that Reina had arrived. This wasn’t just about showing the necessary respect for the Noble Lady’s status; it was also a matter of fairness.
After two seconds, Anya finally asked, "Which way should we go?"
A subtle hint of pleasure was hidden in her eyes, clearly satisfied with Mo Ning’s show of favoritism.
Mo Ning replied calmly, "The required course later is *Epic of Witchcraft*. The class is bound to focus on the first millennium of the Era of Secret Divination."
"The first millennium was the foundational period for Secret Divination. Almost all important theories of Witchcraft originated during that time."
"And in that era, the most dazzling figure was not Lord Linghuan, who created the Divination Visualization Technique, but Lord Gao Lei, who created tens of thousands of Divination Formulas."
"That lord single-handedly built a third of the entire foundation of Divination."
The two girls listened, completely baffled.
What did the direction they needed to go have to do with Lord Gao Lei?
Mo Ning’s next words revealed the answer:
"Lord Gao Lei once famously said, ’The pursuit of knowledge is like traveling upstream against the current of a turbulent river. When you finally reach the end, exhausted, you will witness a breathtaking view.’"
"That’s why he named the most critical Divination formula for constructing the first Spirit Ring the ’Magic Reverse Flow Inequality.’"
At this point, the answer was perfectly clear.
Ever since completing the hidden assessment, Mo Ning had gained a deep understanding of the academy Wizards’ style of setting tests.
The Wizards liked to place the clues for solving the puzzle right in front of the examinees, hiding nothing.
Just like the spatial projections that changed daily outside the full-length windows, and just like the babbling stream now flowing before the three of them.
Only those with keen perception could catch the crucial clues within.
The two girls were no fools. They both turned their gazes almost simultaneously to the right side of the stream—the direction of its source.
For a new student, the most important thing was to construct their first Spirit Ring.
And the Magic Reverse Flow Inequality just so happened to be the most critical formula for constructing the first Spirit Ring.
A stream suddenly appearing here was undoubtedly a hint.
From this perspective, "reverse flow" was an instruction for their direction—only by going upstream could they reach their destination.
Anya nodded. "Let’s go right, then."
"Whoa!"
A sharp whistle escaped Reina’s lips.
Her face was filled with unconcealed amazement, and even the unruly cowlick on her head trembled slightly.
"Most of the new students are just like me, blind people with eyes!"
"So the most incredible person in our batch of new students isn’t Sitt or Phoebe, but the unassuming Mr. Mo Ning!"
There wasn’t a trace of flattery in her words; every syllable came straight from Reina’s heart.
Mo Ning’s expression remained placid, as if he hadn’t heard her praise at all.
Reina seemed to have an exceptionally curious nature. She pressed on, "Mr. Mo Ning, what happens if we go the wrong way? Can we just turn back?"
The Dazed Girl hadn’t been used to calling him "Mr. Mo Ning" at first, but now she did it with practiced ease.
Mo Ning remained unperturbed. "Back then, after Lord Gao Lei was promoted to Third Level Wizard, he was very moved by it. According to the Ancient Wizards’ view that ’aptitude determines everything,’ he should never have been able to reach the Third Level."
He quoted another famous saying: "Lord Gao Lei once said, ’The wrong path forward will inevitably lead to an endless maze.’"
Reina understood instantly—following the stream meant an "endless maze," getting lost in the dense forest.
If only one of Lord Gao Lei’s sayings applied to their current situation, it might have been a coincidence.
But for his words to apply time and time again, fitting the situation so perfectly, it was definitely not a coincidence.
It was an inevitability.
The Dazed Girl couldn’t help but let out another "Whoa!", her eyes fixed on Mo Ning as if she were looking at a monster.
"Mr. Mo Ning, you’re truly an incredible person!"
Anya, however, gave a blunt warning, "You’d better keep what you saw and heard today to yourself. Otherwise, you’ll only bring trouble upon yourself."
Reina shrugged nonchalantly. "I’m not stupid! Spreading this around wouldn’t do me any good. In fact, it would just seriously offend you both."
Mo Ning glanced quickly at the Noble Lady, feeling more and more that she was a remarkably considerate teammate.
Reina, quite self-aware, took the initiative and walked at the front. "I’ll take the lead!"
Anya followed right behind her without the slightest hesitation.
Mo Ning watched the Noble Lady’s back, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
He could tell, of course, that Anya had deliberately positioned herself in the middle to separate him from Reina.
Reina seemed to be a natural chatterbox. As she walked along the stream, she chattered on endlessly.
"Mr. Mo Ning, actually, more than one person saw you leave the Secluded Path. Don’t you want to know why I was the only one who followed?"
Unable to stand Mo Ning being "harassed," Anya snapped, "We don’t want to know!"
Reina completely ignored her rebuke and continued on her own.
"It’s because I have a rare Spiritual Trait. When I’m faced with a choice, it lets me vaguely see the right way forward."
"I looked it up specifically. This trait is called [Intuition of the Right Direction]. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it saves me from taking a lot of wrong turns."
"Mr. Mo Ning, the moment I saw your back earlier, I had a strange feeling—that following you was the only way to find the right path."
Mo Ning suddenly understood.
Anya, on the other hand, calmed down.
The Noble Lady glanced at the bobbing cowlick on the Dazed Girl’s head and quickly brushed her fingertips over the face of her [Secret Technique Whisper] ring.
Mo Ning immediately received a message:
[The academy’s second general assessment is coming soon. Reina’s ’Intuition of the Right Direction’ might help us avoid some risks. We could consider letting her join our team.]
A second message followed right after:
[Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. You have the final say. I will completely obey any of your orders.]
Mo Ning quickly replied:
[Let’s observe her first!]
He silently gave Anya another point in his mind.
Anya clearly didn’t like Reina very much, but even so, for the sake of the upcoming assessment, she was willing to set aside her personal feelings and propose accepting her.
That was a rare ability to see the bigger picture.
All things considered, Anya was definitely an excellent and reliable teammate.
Each lost in their own thoughts, the three of them continued to walk steadily along the babbling stream.
A minute passed in the blink of an eye.
The group rounded a bend in the river, and the scenery before them changed.
The once wide and gentle stream had narrowed considerably here, and the current had become more rapid.
The bushes on both banks grew thicker, and the surrounding trees were taller and straighter, their canopies overlapping layer by layer, causing the light in the forest to dim instantly.
Normally, when the crowns of tall trees are too dense, the undergrowth tends to be sparse. But the bushes here were growing lush and verdant.
This was undoubtedly the power of Witchcraft.
Although everything in sight was a vibrant green, the forest was unnaturally quiet, putting them on edge for some reason.
Reina’s steps suddenly faltered. "Why do I feel like something’s wrong?"
Anya’s face also turned serious. "I can smell danger, but it’s not a strong scent."
Her talent, [Crisis Sensing], had activated again.
Reina blinked, and then it dawned on her.
"Mr. Mo Ning just said that the pursuit of knowledge is like traveling upstream against the current of a turbulent river."
"It looks like we’ll have to face the test of a ’turbulent wave’ before we reach the end."
Anya nodded. "I believe so."
Both of them knew that the so-called "turbulent wave" referred to the monsters the academy had placed in the forest.
Reina said thoughtfully, "Looks like I’ll have to read more famous quotes in the future."
Anya snorted. "The key isn’t the famous quotes, but whether you have enough perception."
Reina fell silent.
As quickly as he could, Mo Ning cast a Sub-zero Level Trick—[Wind Listener].
This Trick sold for 4 Black Tower Points in the Mirror Image Mysteries Hall, making it a relatively "rare" Trick.
The unique environment of the Secluded Forest was perfect for this Witchcraft.
The next moment.
The magical power of the Witchcraft caused Mo Ning’s ear canals to widen slightly.
It also constructed a special, invisible structure in front of his eardrums, like a signal amplifier, making his hearing exceptionally acute.
The sound of his heartbeat reached his ears like the RUMBLE of thunder.
The sound of blood rushing through his veins was like a gushing waterfall.
With a slight shift in his thoughts, Mo Ning made a minute adjustment to his Magic Power.
All noise from himself and his immediate surroundings was precisely filtered out, leaving only the sounds from a distance.
He had figured out this little "filtering" technique in just ten minutes.
A normal new student would likely have been unable to master it without ten days or even half a month of repeated practice.
A moment later.
Mo Ning’s ears twitched.
He clearly caught a sound coming from deep within the forest.
"WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"
To his ears, it sounded like a Gale howling through the woods.
At the same time.
The [Eye of Truth] extracted the frequency spectrum, instantly completed a comparative analysis, and came to a conclusion.
Mo Ning spoke calmly, "I used a Sub-zero Level Trick to hear the sound of a swarm of ’Giant Poisonous Mosquitoes.’"
He had seen Giant Poisonous Mosquitoes with his own eyes in the Holy Spear Kingdom and had recorded their wing-beat frequency.
Giant Poisonous Mosquitoes are creatures with faint Spiritual Power. Because of their colorful bodies, many people keep them as ornamental creatures.
Honestly, he found the hobby rather perverse.
That was because Giant Poisonous Mosquitoes weren’t blood-sucking insects. Their mouthparts were extremely sharp and could easily pierce their prey’s skin.
They would inject a special toxin into their prey, causing its tissues to rapidly dissolve so they could suck out the bodily fluids.
Mo Ning paused, then gave precise data: "They are currently 280 meters away, deep in the forest, and are flying rapidly toward us. Estimated time of arrival is 45 seconds."
The two girls’ gazes snapped to Mo Ning.
Both pairs of pretty eyes were filled with obvious astonishment.
After all, a Sub-zero Level Trick was still just a Trick. Hearing such a faint sound from so far away was already incredibly difficult.
But Mo Ning had not only heard the sound, he had also accurately identified the type of target and its distance.
He had even calculated their arrival time. It was simply unbelievable.
Reina couldn’t help but ask, "For real?"
Anya, however, didn’t doubt him in the slightest. She knew Mo Ning’s capabilities all too well.
The Noble Lady turned to look behind them, quickly surveyed the surroundings, and immediately said, "Let’s fall back ten meters. The clearing over there is more open."
It was undoubtedly a very reasonable and sound plan.
Giant Poisonous Mosquitoes were small, agile, and adept at maneuvering through dense vegetation.
If they fought them in this area overgrown with bushes, not only would their own movements be restricted, but they would also be vulnerable to sneak attacks from all directions.
That would be an extremely unwise choice.
Mo Ning just gave a quiet "Mm," turned, and strode backward.
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