Chapter 65
Chapter 65
“You came here just to enroll a child in school?”
In the room backstage, Li Que regarded the bald old man with considerable surprise.
The phrase “enroll in school” seemed to catch the old man off guard. After a moment, however, he nodded.
“Yes… I ask only that you accept my unruly young descendant, sir. If you would grant me this favor, this old man would be forever grateful!”
His aged eyes brimmed with longing.
Beside them, Qin Shiyu grew even more astonished. This was an ancient SSS-class wild deity-a mighty anomaly whose slightest movement could affect the whole of Jiangdong Province.
Yet he was practically begging on his knees!
She could not help looking at Li Que, her heart in turmoil.
Before today, even she had wondered whether Li Que had truly relied on the Divine Seal Fragment to return unscathed from Five Dragons Mountain.
But moments ago, she had watched a certificate handwritten by Li Que grant Meng Mo divine investiture. Now she had seen Abyss humble himself before Li Que…
She finally understood. Every estimate they had ever made of Li Que had been absurdly wrong!
The Divine Seal Fragment? To Li Que, it might truly mean nothing.
An SSS-class anomaly wielder? Still nowhere near enough to stand before him!
This affair had stirred up all of Jiangdong Province and even attracted the attention of the Old-Grave Clans. To everyone else, it was a terrifying struggle. To Li Que, it might honestly have been nothing more than something he handled in passing.
That was why he had remained so calm. Despite every twist and turn, he had never once stepped out of this room!
Such was the confidence of a man who looked down upon every possible variable. Such was the bearing of one who could crush any enemy!
Li Que noticed none of her emotional upheaval. He merely shook his head at the bald old man.
“Sir, you’ve made a mistake.”
The old man’s face immediately tightened with anxiety.
“Sir… I admit I came without warning, but we can make amends. We can change. Whatever you ask of us, we will do!”
He seemed terrified of losing this chance at enrollment.
Li Que gave him a reassuring smile. “There’s no need to be nervous. When I said you’d made a mistake, I meant that you came to the wrong person.”
He gestured toward Qin Shiyu. “This is Dean Qin, the academic dean of our school. She has a say in admissions.”
“As for me, I’m only a teacher.”
The bald old man froze. Then he turned and stared incredulously at Qin Shiyu.
His expression shifted. All at once, he bowed directly to her as well.
“Dean Qin… I behaved discourteously on the bridge earlier. This old man offers you his sincerest apology!”
“Please forgive me and grant my young descendant a chance.”
His attitude was earnest and sincere.
Qin Shiyu, however, was dumbfounded. Now she could be absolutely certain.
This bald old man truly was Abyss himself.
And now he was bowing to her?
It was ridiculous beyond belief.
Her expression grew complicated. She had previously gone to Mingjiang No. 1 Bridge to negotiate with him, only to receive an icy response.
Now his attitude had completely changed.
Even so, she made no decision. Instead, she looked at Li Que.
“Teacher Li… What do you think?”
After all, they could not admit a student without Li Que’s approval.
Li Que smiled. “You and Vice Principal Leng can discuss the enrollment arrangements.”
“That said, this gentleman seems sincere. If possible… I think we should accept the child.”
The man appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, yet he had personally made this trip and gone to such lengths for a child’s education. Li Que could not help feeling sympathy for him.
Qin Shiyu immediately understood.
She took a deep breath. “All right. Sir… I’ll take you to meet Vice Principal Leng first.”
The bald old man nodded excitedly and bowed to Li Que once more before following Qin Shiyu out.
…
The auditorium was deathly silent, its atmosphere frozen with tension. Everyone stared anxiously at the door.
“Can Teacher Li really hold off Abyss?”
“They’ve been in there so long… What’s happening?”
Questions filled every mind.
The next moment, the door opened.
To everyone’s surprise, Qin Shiyu emerged with the bald old man following behind her.
They looked as though no conflict had taken place at all.
Everyone stared in bewilderment.
“Vice Principal Leng, Director Xu, Director Shi-please come with me. We have something to discuss,” Qin Shiyu said.
Li Que had told her to discuss the admission with Leng Qingyan.
That meant Leng Qingyan and the others first had to be informed about Abyss’s situation.
Leng Qingyan and the others were instantly dumbfounded.
Discuss?
They were supposed to discuss something with Abyss?
They almost began questioning their own worth. Were they even qualified to do that?
Shi Xuan was the first to recover. He gave the room where Li Que remained a long look and understood at once. This was most likely Li Que’s decision.
It seemed his guess had been correct.
Teacher Li truly possessed the standing to speak with Abyss as an equal!
“This way, please!”
Shi Xuan immediately extended a hand in invitation.
The group entered another room beside the auditorium. The bald old man nodded and followed with surprising cooperation.
Even after they disappeared inside, everyone left in the auditorium remained frozen.
“What is going on? Abyss is actually willing to negotiate with them?”
“Something’s wrong… What gives them the right?!”
Cao Yi and the others were stunned.
Sun-Swallowing Gorge, where Abyss dwelled, was known as the most dangerous forbidden zone in Jiangdong Province. Countless anomaly wielders had ventured there, only to disappear without a trace.
Only once had an Old-Grave Clan brought something out of its ancestral grave and successfully rescued a member of the family.
Could the existence inside that room backstage truly possess power comparable to the Old-Grave Clans-enough to speak with Abyss on equal terms?
It was absurd!
…
The room was a lounge reserved for guest speakers. It contained an office desk, sofas, and other furnishings. Once everyone was inside, Shi Xuan asked, “Dean Qin, what instructions did Teacher Li give?”
“Senior Abyss came to our school because he wants one of his younger descendants to enroll and become Teacher Li’s student,” Qin Shiyu explained.
“Teacher Li has essentially agreed, but he asked me to discuss it with all of you first.”
Shi Xuan, Xu Changjiang, and the others whipped around and stared incredulously at the bald old man.
What the hell?
He had arrived with terrifying momentum, bearing down upon the entire city and suppressing even Lin Xiaoyu and Meng Mo.
And now they were being told that he had come… to enroll his descendant in school?!
What a complete reversal!
The bald old man seemed displeased. He was a mighty SSS-class wild deity, yet Shi Xuan and the others were staring at him like some curiosity.
He took the initiative to speak.
“In exchange for my descendant’s enrollment, I can conceal Teacher Li for a time and prevent him from being noticed too soon.”
Everyone started, confusion flashing across their faces.
What did Abyss mean?
“Noticed?” Qin Shiyu frowned. “Noticed by what?”
Surprise appeared in the old man’s eyes. “You do not know?”
“Teacher Li’s student acquired the divine authority of an anomalous entity from that place and completed divine investiture. Every ceremony of divine investiture disturbs the darkness, like stones cast again and again into a stagnant pool.”
“Certain things that must not be spoken of will turn their gaze toward the ripples.”
“If they see you-if they notice you-a catastrophe beyond imagining will descend!”
The bald old man’s voice was exceedingly grave.
“Even if Teacher Li emerged from beyond the Divine Gate, he still lacks the strength to oppose those things.”
“As for me… I was seen once. They gravely wounded me, but those things now consider me beneath their notice. That means I can conceal this place and buy Teacher Li more time to prepare.”
“I can vaguely guess what Teacher Li intends to do. Time is precious to him now. At the very least, he must grant divine investiture to several more gods…”
Qin Shiyu and the others turned solemn.
…
Meanwhile, high in the sky, a private jet sped toward Mingjiang City.
“Abyss still dares meddle in affairs like these? It seems the lesson he received back then was not harsh enough,” a middle-aged man said coldly from the cabin.
“It is divine authority granted through investiture, after all. Abyss is not the only one who has yet to give up on that place. Many others remain obsessed with it, and even the Special Anomaly Investigation Bureau is still conducting research,” a subordinate beside him said.
“Fourth Master Xu, do you think someone who obtains divine authority through investiture can truly open that gate again?”
Fourth Master Xu sneered.
“In their dreams.”
“Even if they could open it, why would they go inside? That place… is no longer somewhere humans can set foot.”
The subordinate nodded. “If Abyss forcibly seized the Water God’s Authority, that would still be troublesome…”
Fourth Master Xu’s expression cooled. “Don’t worry. He wouldn’t dare!”
“Even if he obtained that divine authority, he would never dare contain it himself-unless he wants those things in the darkness to punish him again.”
“That divine authority is destined to belong to Guoguo!”
…