42: Chapter 42: Rejected by the Four Great Martial Soul Academies
Lin Mo originally wanted to take a shortcut and directly refine a high-level Soul Recovery Pill.
But after only one minute of focusing on the refinement, his Soul Power surged out like a breached dam, forcing him to stop.
"As expected, it's still impossible to force the refinement of pills that exceed my current strength level." He rubbed his throbbing temples; this wasn't the first time it had happened.
Many of the pill recipes generated by System AI could not be refined due to insufficient Soul Power.
He guessed that this was most likely inseparable from his own level of strength.
With no other choice, he had to settle for the next best thing and try refining a low-level Soul Recovery Pill.
Following the medicinal ingredient ratios and refining techniques on the pill recipe, he focused his mind to control his Medicine Cauldron Martial Spirit.
The first batch of low-level Soul Recovery Pills took only ten minutes to successfully produce six pills.
However, two of them were dull in color and covered in cracks, clearly failed pills.
"Not bad. If I succeeded one hundred percent of the time, that would actually be abnormal."
Lin Mo muttered to himself as he picked up an ice-blue finished pill.
The pill was perfectly round, its surface glowing with a lustrous sheen, and it emitted a crisp, refreshing medicinal fragrance.
He hesitated for a moment before tossing it directly into his mouth.
The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, turning into a cool, warm current.
In just two or three seconds, it spread down his throat to his entire body. A trace of warmth even welled up in his dantian, and his head, which had felt heavy from the consumption of Soul Power, became much clearer.
"It worked!"
Lin Mo clearly felt that his Soul Power had instantly recovered by thirty percent, and a look of joy flashed in his eyes.
According to what was written in Pei Luohan's books on martial arts.
Martial arts practitioners cultivate internal energy; upon reaching the Xiantian Realm, internal energy transforms into true qi, and higher levels of cultivation lead to the transformation of true qi into essence.
Soul Power, on the other hand, is a type of energy that combines internal energy and mental power.
This Soul Recovery Pill was likely generated by System AI using this knowledge combined with the pharmacology of this world.
Therefore, the effect was remarkable.
Perhaps without Pei Luohan's books, System AI might not have been able to generate this Soul Recovery Pill.
"System AI, you really are damn reliable!"
He happily stored the remaining three intact Soul Recovery Pills in a glass bottle.
He casually tossed the failed pills into a jar in the corner specifically for failed pills and immediately dove back into refining.
Lin Mo spent almost the entire night refining pills.
body refining pills, soul condensing pills, low-level Soul Recovery Pills...
Batch after batch, the medicinal fragrance permeated the room, gradually becoming rich and mellow.
He had been taking body refining pills for a long time, and his physique was now far superior to that of an ordinary person, at least comparable to a Tier 2 Awakened.
The effect of the soul condensing pill was even more significant; even compared to those Awakened with SS-grade Martial Souls, his Soul Power was no less profound.
With these three types of pills as a foundation, Lin Mo felt much more at ease.
At the very least, among his peers, he had enough confidence not to lose to any genius.
The horizon began to turn white.
He finally stopped, looking at the rows of jade bottles filled with pills on the table, a satisfied smile curling on his lips.
Next, he only needed to patiently wait for the admission letter to arrive, and everything would be settled.
However, Lin Mo did not know.
That his admission letter from Vermilion Bird Academy.
Would never come.
...
East Sea, Dean's office of the Vermilion Bird Academy.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the floor.
Bai Yuntian sat on the sofa, fingers lightly tapping the armrest, his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible incitement:
"Dean, in my opinion, this Lin Mo's score seems a bit opportunistic. Furthermore, neither his Martial Soul aptitude nor his character meets our academy's admission standards."
The long-haired middle-aged Dean sitting behind the desk was looking down at Lin Mo's file and frowned slightly upon hearing this.
"Hmm... Indeed, apart from his top-tier scores in liberal arts and theory, there don't seem to be any highlights in other areas."
He turned to look at the middle-aged man with a crew cut standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
That man was wearing a dusty-colored trench coat, hands clasped behind his back, gazing into the distance at the academy's training ground, remaining silent from start to finish.
The Dean couldn't help but feel a sense of respect.
This person was a top-tier Martial Soul Master from the Dragon Kingdom that he had paid a huge price to recruit.
"Brother Yu, what do you think of Yuntian's opinion?" the Dean asked.
The middle-aged man with the crew cut slowly turned around, his face expressionless, his tone plain yet carrying an unquestionable weight.
"Yuntian's words are not without reason. I have read Lin Mo's file; his liberal arts scores are indeed excellent."
"Although I don't know why his Martial Soul mutated, it is ultimately just a C-grade Martial Soul and truly does not reach the admission threshold of the Vermilion Bird Academy."
He paused, then added, "The Vermilion Bird Academy cannot admit someone by exception just because their scores are qualified; this would affect the reputation the academy has built over a hundred years."
"Understood." The Dean nodded. "In that case, let's also strike Niu Dachun, with that D-grade Martial Soul, off the list as well."
Bai Yuntian felt a surge of satisfaction, though his face remained calm.
Hmph, dare to offend me, Bai Yuntian? This is your fate.
As for Lu Mengmeng, he thought that once she enrolled, there would be plenty of opportunities to slowly deal with her... and her mother...
The three of them lightly struck Lin Mo and Niu Dachun's names from the admission list, as if they were just brushing away two insignificant specks of dust.
Who told them their Martial Souls couldn't even reach B-grade?
...
"Big Brother, there's a call from home! Ding ding ding..."
A magical mobile phone ringtone dragged Lin Mo awake from his dream.
He rubbed his sleepy eyes, groping to answer the phone: "Hello? Mengmeng, what's up?"
Lu Mengmeng's cheerful voice came from the other end of the phone immediately.
"Boss! My admission letter has arrived! What about yours? Did you receive it?"
Lin Mo sat up, scratched his messy hair, moved the phone away from his ear, and unlocked the screen to check.
The notification bar was clean; there wasn't a single new notification.
"Nope, haven't received any news. Maybe it's still on the way."
"No way?" Lu Mengmeng's voice rose instantly, filled with suspicion.
"Our classmate, Vice Squad Leader, already got his! You're the second in the whole city, how could yours not have arrived yet?"
Lin Mo also felt a bit of doubt in his heart: "I don't know... Let's wait and see. Maybe the system is lagging."
After hanging up the phone, he stared at the ceiling, and his drowsiness was completely gone.
At this moment, Niu Dachun's call came in.
Lin Mo pressed answer.
"Brother Mo, has your admission letter arrived..."
Lin Mo repeated his previous statement.
To his surprise, Niu Dachun's also had no news at all.
This made Lin Mo feel a bit uneasy.
He was just about to call his homeroom teacher, Teacher Liao Dafu, to ask.
As it turned out, Teacher Liao Dafu called him first.
"Old Liao, what's the situation?"
The other side was clearly silent for a while.
"Lin Mo, I have some not-so-good news to tell you!"
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat.
He thought to himself, could there really be a problem?
Sure enough, he heard the other side continue: "Because of your and Niu Dachun's Martial Soul aptitude, The Four Great Academies have all struck you off the list."
"What does that mean?" Lin Mo's expression darkened.
"It means that The Four Great Academies all feel that your Martial Souls do not meet the admission requirements, so they have all disqualified you..."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Mo lit a cigarette and stood on the balcony.
"So it really does come down to talent, huh?"
He didn't think much of it; after all, he had had a premonition about this before the college entrance exam.