A hundred ordinary quill pens together weren’t worth a single Heaven Crystal.

But an artifact spirit was something a thousand crystals couldn’t reliably purchase — it was purely a matter of chance, something you encountered rather than obtained by effort.

He genuinely didn’t know how to criticize this student. On the one hand, the boy could add an artifact spirit to a quill pen, placing something with the potential to evolve into a Sacred-tier treasure onto a completely ordinary writing instrument. On the other hand, praising him for it was equally impossible to bring himself to do. If this young man were his own son, the principal estimated he’d have slapped him across the ear first and asked questions later. Of all things to put an artifact spirit into — why a quill pen? If that wasn’t asking for a beating, what was?

Yue Yang replied with sincere deference: “Principal, if all of us students had a quill pen with a living awareness of its own, we wouldn’t have to exhaust ourselves copying down notes during class. We could concentrate fully on listening to the lectures instead. Don’t you think that’s worthwhile?”

The principal sighed with a certain bitterness. “You’re not wrong.”

He very much wanted to add that besides this young man, almost nobody in the class paid serious attention anyway — otherwise those lazy students wouldn’t be repeating year after year, resitting exam after exam. A few of the newer arrivals were showing promise, but even adding every student’s intelligence together and multiplying by ten probably wouldn’t equal half of what this one young man possessed.

But looking at Yue Yang’s earnest face, even the sharp words the principal had prepared dissolved on his tongue. He swallowed them back down.

One artifact spirit, then. Fine. If nothing else, at least the boy had found a research direction worth pursuing.

He could always be asked to produce a proper Sacred-tier treasure separately.

Wait.

Could this prodigious young man actually make a Sacred-tier treasure?

The principal’s heart rate shot to three hundred. He nearly ruptured a blood vessel on the spot. He was so agitated he almost keeled over from a cardiac event right then and there — but being a man of the world, he just barely managed to keep the surface calm, though his heart was protesting vigorously: “Titan student — you’re doing very well. Keep working hard!”

“Thank you for your support, Principal. If this student finishes the quill pen to Sacred-tier within a month, I intend to present it to you as a small expression of gratitude for your teaching.” Yue Yang delivered this like a young cadet paying respects to a commanding officer, and the words hit the strict principal so hard that his eyes prickled with heat. What an extraordinary student — after completing his work, the first person he thought of was his principal. If the principal had had an army in his hands, he felt he’d have handed command of it to this young man without a moment’s hesitation. Where on earth did you find students like this?

“The sentiment is what matters — keep the Sacred-tier treasure for yourself, I’m honored by the thought.” The principal’s lips trembled slightly with genuine emotion.

“Please review the third project as well.” Yue Yang indicated he should look at the battle construct design.

“Wings? Are those actually wings? Are you designing a flying battle construct?” The principal had just barely reined in his emotional state when the sight of the third project floored him again. It wasn’t that nobody had ever conceived of flying battle constructs — but nobody had ever successfully built one. A flying battle construct — could this monstrous young man actually pull it off? If the answer was yes, this would be a design of epochal significance.

“Since I’ve had no access to a battlefield, I haven’t been able to run final tests yet — and this is still a design prototype, to be clear. My intended specifications are a wingspan of thirty meters and a payload capacity exceeding one hundred tons. Its function isn’t intended for direct combat at this stage, but if used to transport other battle constructs into a battlefield and execute surprise attacks on enemy forces, it could potentially be quite effective. As for this model — it could be test-flown within Silver Maple City, but that wouldn’t be a proper trial flight. And the flight would really only be a glide, a few hundred to a thousand meters or so. Something that short can’t really be called flying.” Yue Yang made as if he hadn’t noticed the principal’s expression of barely-contained disbelief, delivering this explanation in an unhurried, decidedly “modest” tone.

“How did you do it?” The principal grabbed Yue Yang’s collar with urgent hands. That answer was one battle construct designers in Human Valley had been struggling toward for ten thousand years without success.

“……” Yue Yang maintained a perfectly timed silence.

“Titan student, forgive my loss of composure — your research is simply extraordinary. Listen to me carefully: you may be on the verge of completing a genuinely epochal design, something that could change the balance of many relationships in Human Valley and influence countless people. Which is why you must pursue this research with absolute seriousness — you must see it through. Whatever time it takes, whatever manpower and resources are needed, the Silver Maple City Heavenly Pride Wanderer’s Academy will support you without reservation. If you can produce a finished product at the Assessment Ceremony three months from now — or even a half-finished product — I can say with confidence that the championship is yours and no one else’s! Titan student, set everything else aside for now and focus on developing this flying battle construct. Whatever you need — just say the word.” The principal felt the spring of his life arriving at last.

That heaven would send him such an extraordinary student — if he failed to support this young man in producing a work of epochal greatness, it would be the greatest failure of his own life.

The Silver Maple City Heavenly Pride Wanderer’s Academy had its proudest record to uphold.

The previous principal.

The reason his name had spread so far and wide was precisely because Star Diamond Castle’s previous master had been his student.

That previous master had created works that none had matched since, and the praise for them still circulated to this day. Now, her son was equally a genius — and what a pair of terrifying talents, mother and child alike. The extraordinary fortune that had made everyone envy the previous principal had come again, landing on his own head.

The current new lord of Star Diamond Castle, the son of the last generation’s master — and not some wastrel coasting on inherited privilege, but a once-in-an-era genius.

The opportunity had come again.

If he failed to seize it now, he’d be cursed for eternity in the annals of history.

He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself either. The principal would have gladly offered himself as Yue Yang’s research assistant — but dignity and the confidentiality protocols around research projects meant he could only wait in quietly agonized anticipation. If the name of the flying battle construct’s designer included his own, even as a secondary contributor, that alone would be an honor beyond anything else in Human Valley.

“Titan student — whatever assistance you need, you must say so. I will give you my full support.” In his urgency, the principal was not above volunteering himself outright.

“There is one small request, though it’s a little awkward to bring up.” Yue Yang said this, and the principal’s breathing immediately quickened.

“Speak freely — whatever the difficulty, as long as I’m here, I’ll see it resolved.”

“Would it be possible to add a ‘Hundred Blossom Sweet Dew Pastry’ to the lunch menu? I know this isn’t standard, but I’m genuinely fond of it — because it’s a dish my mother invented. When I eat it, I can take a quiet moment to think of her.” Yue Yang said this with gentle vulnerability, and the principal felt something in his chest break. This exceptionally stern man felt a suspicious warmth gather at the corners of his eyes.

What a wonderful child.

Such a well-behaved child, with no mother to dote on him — it was simply heartbreaking.

While others had parents looking after them, this poor young man had to manage entirely on his own, throwing himself into study and research nonstop, never finding time to think of his mother — squeezing just a moment for it at mealtimes.

The principal thought of his own son — that scoundrel who never stayed home for a single day of the year, always out running around with questionable company.

Looking at the quiet, forlorn little request from the student in front of him, the principal genuinely wanted to weep.

But as a principal, he worked to maintain his composure.

He kept his voice steady and gentle, careful not to say anything too heavy-handed lest the poor young thing’s heart break further: “My child — my poor child — there is nothing the least bit improper about such a request! Filial devotion is the most magnificent feeling in all the world, and nothing can replace it. As for the Hundred Blossom Sweet Dew Pastry — even if the dining hall doesn’t carry it, I can have Grandma Doluo make it for you. She’s my wife, a woman who dearly loves children and has had her own heart broken by them. If she knew you carried this kind of devotion for your mother, she’d weep on the spot. Listen, child — you may come to our home at any time. No, not as a guest — you needn’t be formal at all. Come as family. Both Grandma Doluo and I will always welcome you. Whenever you’re willing, she’ll cook everything you could want — every dish your mother invented, she’ll know how to make.”

“Is that really true?” Yue Yang looked up with “surprised delight.”

“Of course!” The principal saw that guileless expression and felt his own heart shatter a little more. An expression like that could make stone lions leap down from their pedestals to lick this young man’s hand. Poor child — he absolutely had to have someone looking after him, or it would be the greatest injustice done to this boy.

The principal lifted his head.

He quickly wiped a trace of moisture from the corner of his eye.

He cleared his throat twice, drawing himself back to the full dignity of a principal, hoping to avoid the embarrassment of weeping in front of a student.

As Yue Yang bowed in gratitude, the normally stern man couldn’t help reaching out and resting one hand gently atop this “poor child’s” head: “My boy, you don’t have to push yourself so hard. If there isn’t enough time, a slower pace is perfectly fine too. More than any honor or achievement, what I want most is for you to stay happy.”

Yue Yang looked up at the principal’s reddened eyes with the pure gaze unique to genuinely good children, and said obediently, “Principal, it’s just one project per month — three months is exactly enough time. As long as I have a little free time at midday…”

His voice trailed off softly. The principal heard it anyway, and felt the warmth flood his eyes again. He turned away quickly to avoid letting this student see tears on his cheeks.

He had to look after this child properly.

If earlier his motivation had been honor, now the principal had quietly resolved — even if it cost him his last breath — that he would make this child happy. A boy this well-behaved, this hardworking, with a talent this extraordinary: if he didn’t push him to the top position among all who had returned in this generation, what kind of elder did that make him?

“Principal — then may I ask Grandma Doluo to make a Hundred Blossom Sweet Dew Pastry starting tomorrow?” Yue Yang’s request could have made stones nod in agreement.

“Come — let’s go home right now and have some made…” The principal didn’t turn around, just reached back and took Yue Yang’s hand. His voice carried the faintest crack of emotion, and he put particular weight on the word “home.”

“Principal… are you crying?”

“Nonsense. I have a condition with my eyes — they water in the wind. How would I be crying? I’m the principal, you know…”

(End of Chapter)