Chapter 85

"Nine years old and already at the fifth rank? That’s quite a talent." The Holy Mother was not particularly surprised. "Then the mayor should take good care of him. There are sixteen children in the academy now, right?"

"Yes, with the addition of this new one, there are exactly sixteen," the mayor said.

The Holy Mother sighed lightly and said, "This place may not be able to last much longer."

"Huh?" Zhang Haoxuan couldn’t help but exclaim, "What do you mean?"

The Holy Mother said calmly, "It seems he has already noticed something. For safety, we need to make some changes. The academy might have to relocate. Of course, it’s not a final decision yet. There might still be changes. I don’t want this place to change unless absolutely necessary. We’ve worked hard to create this favorable situation."

Zhang Haoxuan smiled bitterly and said, "How much time do we have left?"

The Holy Mother shook her head and said, "It’s hard to say. Wait for my notification. There shouldn’t be too much danger."

"Understood. Take care of yourself. You are the backbone of the organization, and you have made such great sacrifices for it. You must be safe," Zhang Haoxuan bowed.

The Holy Mother shook her head and said, "I will be fine. For the greater cause, I will live on."

Just then, the Holy Mother’s veil turned toward the door. In the next moment, the door suddenly opened, and an angry voice followed, "You, Zhang Haoxuan, you despicable..."

The words were cut off as a blue-purple light condensed in the room, quickly becoming clear. It was Si Ru.

He saw the woman sitting in the main seat, his lips twitched, and he bowed, saying, "Holy Mother, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here."

The Holy Mother smiled slightly and said, "Teacher Si Ru, no need to be so formal. You still have that quick temper."

Si Ru scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Can’t help it, influenced by my bloodline."

Zhang Haoxuan said irritably, "You rush in like this, what if someone sees you? Why did you start cursing me as soon as you came in?"

Si Ru said, "You have to hand that child over to me. He’ll be wasted with you. Do you even understand elemental control?"

Zhang Haoxuan sneered, "I knew you would try to take him from me. That’s why I acted first. Don’t even think about it. He has already formally become my disciple. You have no chance."

Si Ru was about to say something when the Holy Mother, sitting in the main seat, said, "Are you talking about the new child?"

"Yes," Zhang Haoxuan nodded.

The Holy Mother smiled and said, "I’m curious too. To make Teacher Si Ru so excited, he must be quite talented!"

Si Ru said, "He has the Wind Wolf Mutation, which gives him an extremely strong affinity and control over wind elements. It’s rare! He’s on par with Wu Bingji at the fifth rank. He’s definitely one of the best prospects in the academy, and he’s only nine years old. I also specialize in elemental control. Not giving him to me would be a waste. Zhang Haoxuan, you don’t know anything about elemental control."

"Equal to Wu Bingji? Can wind element control match ice element control?" The mayor was surprised. When he suppressed Tang San, he didn’t give Tang San a chance to use his abilities. He valued Tang San’s multiple abilities, but he didn’t expect the boy to be even stronger than he imagined. Just the Wind Wolf Mutation was enough to make Si Ru come after him. If Si Ru knew he could use other abilities...

The Holy Mother said with interest, "That’s indeed impressive. Pure cultivation isn’t everything, but if his control can match Bingji’s, that’s quite something. You should take good care of him. I need to go now. Mayor, prepare for the worst as I said."

As she spoke, she stood up.

Zhang Haoxuan and Si Ru each placed their right hands over their chests, revealing the redemption runes on their hands. If Tang San were here, he would notice that Si Ru’s redemption rune was the same as Zhang Haoxuan’s, both green, not the blue he had expected.

"Unite like a flame, scatter like stars." The Holy Mother softly chanted, and in the next moment, she vanished in a burst of light.

"Unite like a flame, scatter like stars." Zhang Haoxuan and Si Ru solemnly repeated her words.

After a long moment, Si Ru looked at Zhang Haoxuan, "Can I have the disciple?"

"Dream on!" Zhang Haoxuan refused without hesitation.

"Do you want a beating?" Si Ru said fiercely.

Zhang Haoxuan said sternly, "Do you know why the Holy Mother came here?"

Si Ru was taken aback, "Why?"

Zhang Haoxuan said with a serious face, "She said this place might not last. The academy might have to close at any time."

"Huh?" Si Ru’s eyes widened, "Discovered? That shouldn’t be! We’ve been very careful."

Zhang Haoxuan smiled bitterly, "You know his abilities. Without the Holy Mother’s protection, could we have been here for so many years? We should prepare early. Notify everyone and implement the promotion plan. Except for the children in the academy, who don’t need to leave immediately, the other departments should disperse to other cities and go into hiding. Wait until the situation calms down and see if we can return."

Si Ru nodded, "If the Holy Mother came in person, it’s almost certain. What about the children?"

Zhang Haoxuan thought for a moment and said, "Follow Plan Three."

"Plan Three? Why not Plan One? Wouldn’t that be safer?" Si Ru was surprised.

Zhang Haoxuan shook his head, "Plan Three. This batch of children is too talented. I’m not ready to let them go. Besides, we still have the Holy Mother’s protection. Even if there are risks, she can help us avoid many of them."

"You have too many tricks. I’ll go with your plan. What about the disciple? Tang San will be better off with me!" Si Ru didn’t forget his purpose.

Zhang Haoxuan said, "You should teach him, of course. But don’t think about changing his teacher. I’ve worked hard to take on a disciple. Even with the Wind Wolf Mutation, can his foundation compare to Du Bai and Cheng Zicheng? You didn’t even get excited about Bingji’s Ice Spirit Mutation. When will you get rid of your impatience? If not for this bad habit, you would have reached the blue level. The Master wouldn’t let me keep watching you. At least wait until Tang San breaks through to the seventh rank and enters the advanced level before you think about it."

Si Ru looked at him intently, "You have too many tricks. According to everyone, we shouldn’t listen to you. The best way is to act directly and beat you until you submit. For the Holy Mother’s sake, I’ll let you off this time. When Tang San reaches the seventh rank, he will change his teacher to me."

Zhang Haoxuan glanced at him, not getting angry, and said calmly, "When he reaches the seventh rank, let him choose. If he wants to change his teacher to you at that time, I won’t object."

"You..." Si Ru knew he couldn’t argue with this guy, so he didn’t bother. He turned and left, not even fighting with Zhang Haoxuan.

Watching him leave, Zhang Haoxuan sighed, "Old Si, you don’t understand. The hope of humanity might be寄托 in that child. I haven’t even reported it to the Master. The fewer people who know before he grows up, the better."

...

"The mission list is here." Inside the Redemption Academy, Du Bai brought Tang San to a room in the corner.

To Tang San’s surprise, this was where Wu Bingji lived, and he was also in charge of the mission list.

"Big Brother," Tang San bowed.

Wu Bingji smiled slightly and said, "Hello, Tang. Do you want to take on a mission?"