Chapter 28 The Headmaster of Notting Academy
Xiao Wu was the first to climb into the carriage and sit by the window.
As soon as she sat down, she took out a honey-scented bellflower from the cloth bag that Tang Chuan had given her earlier, took a bite, and the sweet juice flowed down the corner of her mouth.
Tang Chuan sat opposite her.
Leaning against the carriage wall, he closed his eyes and savored the gains of the past three days.
The ingredients collected over the past three days numbered in the hundreds. With each additional record, Tang Chuan gained a deeper understanding of the combinations of his first Spirit skill.
It was noon when they returned to Notting.
Tang Chuan and Xiao Wu first went to the Spirit Hall branch to return the warrant. After the staff checked the warrant and confirmed that it was correct, they simply registered Xiao Wu's information that she was a one-ring Spirit Master.
Afterwards, the two went to the teaching affairs office to let Director Su know they were safe.
"Director Su, we're back."
Tang Chuan greeted him politely.
Seeing that Tang Chuan was in high spirits and that Xiao Wu had a yellow Spirit Ring at her feet, Director Su smiled and nodded. "Looks like you've had a good haul. Congratulations, Xiao Wu."
"Thank you, Director Su!"
Xiao Wu answered with a smile.
Director Su nodded, then turned to Tang Chuan, his tone becoming both curious and formal. "Tang Chuan, you've come back just in time."
"The Headmaster called you twice yesterday, asking you to go to his office after you get back."
"The Headmaster wants to see me?"
Tang Chuan's heart stirred slightly as he recalled the note and gold Spirit coins he had left in the Headmaster's flower garden. It seemed the Headmaster had seen them.
"Yes, go quickly."
Director Su said kindly, "The Headmaster seems very interested in your Spirit and Spirit skills."
"Okay, Director Su, I'll be right there."
Tang Chuan agreed to Teacher Su's request, told Xiao Wu to go back to Dormitory 7 first, and then straightened his clothes before heading towards the Headmaster's office.
The Headmaster's office was on the top floor of the west teaching building, and the door was ajar.
"Report."
"Please come in."
Tang Chuan knocked on the door and went in. He saw a middle-aged man in his fifties sitting behind a desk, wearing a blue robe, with graying hair, and looking very energetic.
The man looked up, his gaze falling on Tang Chuan with a scrutinizing look, but without any sense of oppression.
"Headmaster, Director Su said you wanted to see me?"
Tang Chuan asked politely but firmly, and the Headmaster looked him up and down, then said admiringly, "You are... Tang Chuan?"
"Yes, Headmaster."
"Sit."
He put down the note in his hand and pointed to the chair opposite him.
"Thank you, Headmaster."
Tang Chuan sat down in the chair, his gaze sweeping over the note on the desk—the very one he had left in the flowerbed earlier.
"I saw your message and the gold coins."
The Headmaster picked up the note, his tone tinged with amusement. "You are indeed meticulous and knowledgeable, having written down the effects of each plant so clearly."
"The plants in the Headmaster's flower garden are all rare and precious. Students who picked them without permission should be compensated."
"As for its effects—"
"It's the ability of the student's first Spirit skill, Blue Silver Grass, a food-type Spirit. It allows him to know the characteristics of various ingredients, not that the student is erudite."
Tang Chuan lowered his eyes and said without exaggerating, explaining the source without revealing too much of his trump card.
"Oh?"
"Your first Spirit skill?"
The Headmaster became interested and leaned forward slightly. "Shouldn't the first Spirit skill of a food-type Blue Silver Grass Spirit be something like amplifying Spirit power through food?"
"I remember you were born with full Spirit power."
"Could you elaborate on the effects of your first Spirit skill?"
Tang Chuan had already prepared his explanation, nodded, and calmly replied, "Yes, Headmaster."
"My first Spirit skill is quite special; it's called Blue Silver Weaving a Hundred Flavors."
"It not only allows me to replicate foods I've tasted, but also lets me know the food's inherent properties and its potential effects on the human body."
As he spoke, Tang Chuan pointed to the note. "Most of this information was fed back to me by my first Spirit skill."
"The students believe that taking something without asking is the act of theft."
"But I was too eager to try out my first Spirit skill at the time, and in a moment of impulsiveness, I couldn't help but make a mistake. So I left this information here in the hope that it will be of some help to you."
Tang Chuan glanced at the gold Spirit coins on the table again. "As for this money..."
"Take the money back."
The Headmaster waved his hand, interrupting Tang Chuan. "The information you left behind is far more valuable than the scraps you took."
"In fact, I should thank you."
"Some of the information you left about the nursery plants is something even I didn't know."
"Take this Calming Flower for example. When I first got it from a friend, I just thought it smelled nice. I never imagined it could be used to make tea to relieve mental fatigue."
The Headmaster picked up a cup of tea infused with Calming Flowers, his tone filled with even greater appreciation.
"You said this is information fed back from a Spirit skill."
"It reminds me of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the Spirit of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which has the ability to appraise treasures."
"However, your Spirit skill, although it is called a food-type Spirit skill, is actually more like a special ability that combines identification and support, and it is extremely rare and practical."
"On a smaller scale, it can help you precisely match ingredients and avoid toxins."
"On a larger scale, it is of great benefit to pharmacology, food research, and even the identification of resources for Spirit Master cultivation."
Tang Chuan maintained his smile, neither confirming nor denying.
It was far safer to let the Headmaster understand and assess the value of a Spirit skill on his own than to deliberately show it off. This kind of understanding, which leaves room for maneuver, would actually make the Academy value him more.
The Headmaster pondered for a moment, then continued, "The Academy will support your studies and research."
"If you need to access books about plants and Spirit Beasts in the Academy library in the future, you can come to me for a note."
"At the same time, some areas of Notting Academy that are not open to the public will also be open to you."
"Thank you for your kindness, Headmaster."
The Headmaster twirled the note filled with information about the effects of plants between his fingers, then looked at Tang Chuan again and casually asked, "By the way, what's the age of your first Spirit Ring?"
"Normally, it's safer to choose a first Spirit Ring that's around a hundred years old."
"However, given the exceptional effect of your first Spirit skill, it should be around four hundred years old, right?"
He asked this question casually.
A Spirit Master's first Spirit Ring can only last for a maximum of four hundred years. Beyond that, the body simply cannot withstand it.
In his opinion, Tang Chuan's first Spirit Ring should be stuck at its limit.
"Eight thousand six hundred years."
Tang Chuan lowered his eyes, tapped his knee lightly with his fingers, and answered truthfully. The purple thousand-year Spirit Ring was already eye-catching, so there was no need to hide it.
"How much?!"
"How much did you say?!"
"Eight, eight thousand six hundred years?!"
The Headmaster's voice suddenly rose, his body leaned forward, and his eyes widened. He wondered if he had misheard. "Say it again, how many?"
"Reporting to the Headmaster, it has been 8,600 years."
Tang Chuan repeated himself without further explanation, simply raising his right hand.
A pale purple halo rose from beneath his feet. The color of his Spirit Ring was not as light as that of a normal thousand-year Spirit Ring, but a deep purple that was almost black, swirling around Tang Chuan.
"This, this is..."
"A purple... purple Spirit Ring?!"
The Headmaster jumped up from his chair, his movement so sudden that he knocked over the wooden stool under the table, making a loud bang.
[end of the chapter]