The Prodigies War

Refinement Tower.

The tower’s name sounded frightening, but it was a place where rune masters crafted aeth tools.

It also served as an assessment venue.

Every month, students from the Rune Department underwent an assessment to evaluate their progress.

The results affected a student’s ranking and score in the department.

Today, the students from class 9C were taking the assessment.

“Paying my respects to Little Instructor Lin.”

“Little Instructor Lin also came.”

“Little Instructor Lin, don’t be upset when the assessment results are released.”

Lin Xun was frequently greeted as he led the students of Class 9C into the Refinement Tower. The instructors and students were all very friendly to him.

Their enthusiasm demonstrated Lin Xun’s popularity within the Rune Department.

On the contrary, his students were made fun of and provoked wherever they went.

Of course, it was the students from other classes who made fun of them.

“Hmph, it’s so unfair that Little Instructor Lin has to teach those idiots.”

“If those guys’ results are the worst again, wouldn’t Little Instructor Lin lose face?”

“How about we ask the academy to transfer Little Instructor Lin to teach our class instead? Class 9C is hopeless.”

There were endless similar discussions, making the students of Class 9C look increasingly annoyed while their hearts burned with anger.

They would have erupted already if Lin Xun hadn’t previously warned them.

The reason for the other students’ remarks was very simple.

In the past, Class 9C had always always ranked bottom among the nine classes of building C. They had never escaped the bad luck of ranking last once.

Additionally, many students in Class 9C were troublemakers, difficult to manage, and had received terrible test results every single time.

Based on that, it was inevitable that the others made fun of them.

In the past, Lin Xun was unaware of the class’ reputation, but after witnessing everything, how would he not know that he was teaching a group of bad students?

Besides feeling a little speechless, he sighed with sorrow. No matter what, they were his first batch of students, how could he be dissatisfied with them?

Moreover, in Lin Xun’s opinion, the students weren’t exactly bad as the others claimed!

The assessment results would be able to prove that.

……

In a large hall inside the Refinement Tower.

The empty and solemn hall was divided into nine areas for each class of building C.

A total of 270 students were sitting upright on a cushion in front of a desk.

When the assessment began, they would each be given a different assessment to craft a low human-grade aeth tool.

The quality of the crafted aeth tool determined their assessment score.

The three chief examiners were three rune grandmasters—Shen Tuo, Lu Chunsou, a gray-haired and bearded man, and Wu Zhaoyang, a thin and stern-looking man.

The three sat in the center of the hall with the instructors of the nine classes sitting below them.

Lin Xun was among them.

“Little Instructor Lin, I hope you won’t mind the result. Haha,” the instructor of Class 8C said with a smile.

“Don’t say that. Little Instructor Lin has only been teaching for one month. It’s understandable that his students won’t perform well.”

“Yes, improvements in the art of runes can’t be achieved overnight. Class 9C might not show any improvements this time, but in the long term, I believe that, under the guidance of Little Instructor Lin, their score will gradually improve.”

The other instructors echoed his words.

They had no malice, but deep down, they didn’t think Class 9C would show any improvements in their score in the assessment.

Lin Xun didn’t refute and just said with a smile, “I believe in my students.”

His indifferent reaction surprised the other instructors. They just smiled in response and said nothing else.

He’s just a teenager. It’s hard for him to accept it!

The scores of Class 9C have always been bad, how could it be so easy to change this?

They didn’t believe that Lin Xun could transform the students of Class 9C with his rune knowledge.

The assessment was due to officially start in a quarter of an hour.

Bored, Lin Xun glanced around, and to his surprise, he found that the hall was extremely lively. Many figures had already gathered, and an endless number of people continued to stream through the entrance.

Lin Xun quickly recognized that the majority were students from building A and B, and the rest were the instructors.

Lin Xun couldn’t help but ask the instructor beside him, “Instructor Huang, are there always so many people observing the assessments?”

Instructor Huang cast a strange look at Lin Xun, saying, “This has never happened before. I think this is related to you, Little Instructor Lin.”

“Me?”

“Yes, everyone in the Rune Department is praising your teaching and your unique approach. They must have come to see whether the students of Class 9C will improve after one month of your teaching,” Instructor Huang patiently explained.

Lin Xun said in surprise, “I think they are just here to watch. If my students perform badly, maybe they won’t praise my teaching anymore.”

Instructor Huang’s expression stiffened and turned awkward.

Many people in the Rune Department indeed were praising Lin Xun, but many also questioned his teaching approach. They felt his teaching material was unconventional and unusual. They believed that he only did so to get attention.

The monthly assessment could confirm whether Lin Xun’s teaching ability was good or whether he was just trying to get attention by doing something out of line.

This was the real reason for the presence of so many instructors and students spectating the assessment.

Lin Xun had also heard rumors about him, so he knew what was going on. Moreover, Instructor Huang’s expression confirmed his speculation.

Clang!

The bell signaled the start of the assessment, and the atmosphere in the hall instantly turned still and solemn. All conversations and discussions halted abruptly.

Several attendants walked out in a line and began to cast lots for the students of the nine classes to allocate their assessment tasks.

Although they were all tested on their ability to craft a low human-grade aeth tool, aeth tools were divided into different categories such as combat weapons and armor.

Additionally, different rune inks and rune materials were required to craft different aeth tools, so drawing lots assured fairness.

Each student was provided with different rune materials and inks according to what they drew.

“The assessment begins.”

Following Shen Tuo’s order, the monthly assessment began.

Rustle—

The rustling sound of rune brushes running across paper filled the quiet hall.

Everyone, including the chief examiners, Lin Xun, instructors, and students were focused on the examination hall.

Of course, many gazes were on the thirty students of Class 9C.

Lin Xun was also observing his students. In the past month, he had only taught his students rune knowledge. The assessment was his first time seeing his students craft aeth tools.

Lin Xun’s goal in the assessment was very simple, unlike the other instructors. He only wanted to identify each student’s rune skills through the assessment and analyze their strengths and weaknesses.

That way, he could use a targeted teaching approach during his lectures.

Crafting aeth tools was a tedious and time-consuming task, especially for initiate rune masters. In general, it could take anywhere from six hours to five days to craft a low human-grade aeth tool!

However, the assessment was different in that rune inks and rudimentary aeth tools were already provided. The students only had to engrave rune patterns on the prepared tool.

Therefore, they should be able to complete the assessment task within five hours.

As time passed, the hall remained quiet and solemn. No one made the slightest noise.

As rune masters, everyone knew that rune masters mustn’t be disturbed when inscribing runes.

“Liu Hui has solid basic skills, but his speed needs to be improved.”

“Hey, I didn’t know that Yang Jingyao’s sensing power is so sensitive...”

“Fan Zhiqiu has trouble entering a correct state of mind. This is a huge problem and he needs proper training.”

“The little girl is called Ye Sumiao? She’s a very good seedling.”

……

Lin Xun was also analyzing the performance of each student in the examination hall. He didn’t find it boring to assess his students’ abilities in different aspects.

Two hours later.

A slender black-robed youngster from Class C1 suddenly rose to his feet and handed in his completed aeth tool to an attendant.

Everyone’s expressions tensed. Mo Yun! A descendant from the Mo Family, one of the three great rune clans. He is the top genius of Class C1. and his scores are always the best among all nine classes!

He is the first to complete the assessment task again!

Lin Xun didn’t know who Mo Yun was, but he noticed that Mo Yu’s getting up was like a spark as students completed the assessment one after another after he got up.

However, all were from the other classes and Class 9C showed no movement…