Leaving the assistants behind to clear up, the major characters, with Bai Wenzhang in the lead, crowded around Sun Mo as they left the operation theater.
“What the hell?”
The middle-aged man started. Was this Sun Mo really so strong?
Those who were present were all major characters from the manor’s upper echelons. (You guys are all smiling amicably while surrounding Sun Mo. Do you all not care about your prestige?)
“Brother Bai, how is it?”
The Undying Old Man wheeled his wheelchair and moved forward.
“The experiment is very successful!”
Bai Wenzhang was very happy.
“Dean, you better lie down on a stretcher.”
Sun Mo advised.
“No worries!”
As long Bai Wenzhang could stand, he would persist and not lie down.
“What’s wrong with you?”
The Undying Old Man instantly surveyed Bai Wenzhang. As expected, he discovered that Bai Wenzhang’s qi and blood were much weaker.
“Being able to see that the experiment was a success, it would be worth it even if I died.”
Bai Wenzhang laughed.
“…”
The Undying Old Man was depressed. (What should I do if you die?)
“Today is a wonderful day. Pass my instructions for a great banquet to be held. We shall celebrate for three days.”
After Bai Wenzhang finished speaking, he wanted to laugh. However, his body trembled and he almost fell again. Luckily, Sun Mo’s reactions were fast enough, and he managed to support him.
“Dean, you should rest more.”
Sun Mo inspected Bai Wenzhang’s body and frowned heavily. (Why did his lifeforce decline so quickly?)
“What about our master’s operation?”
The middle-aged man asked.
“You should have seen my current state. Do you still dare to let me do the operation?”
Bai Wenzhang looked at the Undying Old Man and spoke with a hint of mocking in his tone.
“Do I have a choice?”
The Undying Old Man was unhappy.
In these fifty years, he had gone through this operation three times, and the operator had always been Bai Wenzhang. If it wasn’t for his Eternal Spirit Rune, he would have long since been bed-ridden.
“Yes. Get him to do it for you.”
Bai Wenzhang was referring to Sun Mo.
“Dean Bai, what joke is this? If something happens to our master, everyone in your manor will have to be buried together with him.”
The middle-aged man threatened.
“Scram. Immediately!”
Bai Wenzhang’s expression turned gloomy.
The middle-aged man didn’t move.
“SCRAM!”
Bai Wenzhang roared as a powerful blast of spirit pressure akin to a tsunami tide gushed forth from him.
“Brother Bai, calm your anger!”
The Undying Old Man was still speaking. No one could see his actions, but all of a sudden, one of the middle-aged man’s arms was broken. Fresh blood spurted everywhere.
“I will use an arm of his to apologize to you!”
The Undying Old Man squeezed out a smile and surveyed Sun Mo. “I wonder what the standard of this little friend is?”
“For that experiment earlier, if it wasn’t for Teacher Sun doing his best to save it, it would have failed.”
After Bai Wenzhang spoke, he walked away and ignored the Undying Old Man. “You should have seen my current condition. If you want to die on the operating table, I don’t mind.”
“Master, this fellow is too arrogant!”
The middle-aged man vented his resentment on Bai Wenzhang.
“Shut up!”
The Undying Old Man sank into deep thoughts.
As an old man who feared death, he truly didn’t want to hand his life into the hands of a young man around 20+ of age. But just like what Bai Wenzhang had said, he had no choice.
“Go and gather information on this fellow!”
The Undying Old Man instructed.
…
Other than Bai Wenzhang’s room being larger and there being more books, it wasn’t that different from the room of an ordinary person.
After Sun Mo finished his inspection and was about to leave, Bai Wenzhang stopped him.
“Teacher Sun, please wait!”
When Xiao Feng saw this, he also paused.
“You can go out!”
Bai Wenzhang urged, speaking to Xiao Feng.
Xiao Feng felt so sullen that he wanted to die. (Who is your personal student exactly? What secrets do you guys have that I cannot listen to it?)
After Xiao Feng left, Bai Wenzhang continued, “That old man in a wheelchair is one of the five Doyens of the Dark Dawn. His title is the Undying Old Man. His body was damaged several decades ago. If it wasn’t for me using the Eternal Spirit Rune to enhance his body’s strength, he would have long since been unable to move. He came to look for me this time around because he wanted me to repair the damaged spirit rune.
“Sun Mo, I decided to hand this job to you!”
After Bai Wenzhang finished speaking, he observed Sun Mo’s expression and finally heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed that there was no expression of disgust on Sun Mo’s face.
To some young people, the teachings of the Saint Gate were embedded very deeply in their hearts. Hence, they would seriously view the Dark Dawn with hostility.
“You want him to owe me a favor?”
Sun Mo counter-asked.
“The Undying Old Man wouldn’t care about favors and friendship. He only cares about benefits.”
Bai Wenzhang sighed. “And as for something like a debt of gratitude? If the other party was an immoral person who has no principles, what would you do? This is why I believe in strength more. As long as you can repair the spirit rune on the Undying Old Man’s body, he would have to protect you. At the very least, before he dies, you will have an additional protective charm.”
This protective thigh was very large. However, the identity of the Undying Old Man might bring trouble for Sun Mo. Others might slander him, trying to defile his reputation by saying that he had a connection with the Dark Dawn.
“I don’t care whether I can gain a favor from him or not, but since there’s a chance to operate on a major character, I really feel like trying it.”
Sun Mo didn’t mind.
“Good!”
Bai Wenzhang nodded. “Don’t worry. At that time, I will be your assistant. The operation will definitely not fail.”
“Many thanks, dean!”
Sun Mo was grateful.
“The remaining problem will be those disciples of mine. They have always viewed the manor as something belonging to them and competed against each other overtly and covertly. When I’m alive, you will temporarily be fine, but once I die, I’m afraid that…”
Bai Wenzhang was worried.
“Dean, what is the greatest ‘wealth’ in the manor?”
Sun Mo asked with a smile.
“The knowledge and experimental results achieved through the years, in addition to those human talents who are proficient in the study of spirit runes.”
Bai Wenzhang replied directly.
“Correct. So wouldn’t the problem be solved if you gave me those things in addition to allowing me to recruit some talents back to the Central Province?”
Sun Mo suggested.
Bai Wenzhang frowned. “But by doing this, the strength of the manor would be divided.”
“Dean, I’ll say something unpleasant. Once you die, there won’t be a major character guarding this place. Don’t you think this manor would be attacked then?”
Sun Mo was just at the Longevity Realm. He didn’t feel like he would be able to stop powerful enemies from plundering this place if they wished to.
“I have some methods.”
Bai Wenzhang was very proud.
“I also don’t want to see the relationship between you and your students turn into one of hatred. Why don’t we do this? I will bring all the ancient texts and spirit runes in the treasury away. After that, I’ll also bring some people, who are willing to follow me, back to the Central Province Academy.”
In the manor, the texts and spirit runes in the library above the ground were priceless. However, it was unworthy of being mentioned when compared with those kept in the underground treasury.
Besides, given Sun Mo and Li Ziqi’s intelligence, they could remember the content of those books after reading them a few times. So, the significance of bringing them away wasn’t big.
However, those kept underground were different. Because in this life, Sun Mo might not even be able to decipher one-thousandth of their content. Hence, it was a must to have the original copies.
“Even if I agreed, you wouldn’t be able to bring them away.”
Bai Wenzhang persuaded.
If those real copies left the manor, they would immediately be snatched away.
“Dean, it’s time for me to tell you a shocking secret.” Sun Mo smiled self-confidently. “I have an eight-gate cloud!”
“What?”
Bai Wenzhang blinked his eyes.
“You didn’t hear it wrongly. It’s an eight-gate cloud, the magical cloud ranked #10 on the magical darkness species list.
Sun Mo explained. “I can construct a teleportation gate and directly deliver these items back to the Central Province Academy!”
Honestly speaking, Sun Mo wanted to keep these texts and spirit runes in the Wind King Divine Hall because the security level of the Central Province Academy wasn’t high enough to protect them.
“You actually managed to obtain such a rare creature? What dog-shit luck do you have?”
Bai Wenzhang was envious.
“Since that’s the case, you can do whatever you want with these books. But I have a request.”
“Dean, please speak!”
Sun Mo listened respectfully.
“You have to expand the study of the spirit rune’s ‘knowledge domain’ and create many paths for the later generations. I also hope that you won’t be selfish and cherish this knowledge, not wanting to teach others. If you find good seedlings, I hope you can ignore their origins. Even if they are someone from the dark camp, you have to do your utmost to nurture them.”
Bai Wenzhang beseeched.
“Mn!”
Sun Mo nodded solemnly.
Right now, it could be considered that Sun Mo had inherited one of the most important portions of the Dragonspirit Manor’s ‘wealth’.
…
After returning to his residence, Sun Mo gathered his students.
“Where is Zhiruo?”
Xuanyuan Po wasn’t present, so he must be cultivating. But where was the papaya girl?”
“Senior martial sister Zhiruo went to face the second world-class difficulty question.”
Xianyu Wei reported.
“Mn!”
Sun Mo no longer waited for Lu Zhiruo. He brought his students underground with him.
Upon seeing these books, Qin Yaoguang’s eyes brightened.
“These are priceless treasures!”
“That’s right. With them, the study of spirit runes of our Central Province Academy would definitely be number one in the Nine Provinces!”
Helian Beifang was extremely happy and wanted to touch them, but he was afraid he might dirty them.
“It’s not important whether we have these books or not. As long as our teacher is here, our school will surely stand at the peak of the Nine Provinces.”
Xianyu Wei was also a crazy fan of Sun Mo.
“Stop wasting time talking. Quickly shift them to the Wind King Divine Hall.”
Sun Mo urged his students after the teleportation gate was constructed.
“Ah?”
The students were stunned. (It wasn’t enough to read them, we have to move them away as well?)
“Teacher…”
Helian Beifang mentally mused. (Even if Bai Wenzhang admires you, you can’t do this. What would be the difference between this and you digging up his ancestral grave? If you are discovered, you will die for sure.)
“Bai Wenzhang has agreed to give these books to me.” Sun Mo casually explained. “Act quickly!”
“Why?”
Tantai Yutang didn’t understand and he almost blurted up, ‘Are you his illegitimate son? If not, why would he be a wastrel? What’s the difference between this and a multi-billionaire giving away his fortune to a stranger?’
“Because he wants me to become the next dean of the Dragonspirit Manor.”
After Sun Mo finished speaking, the sounds of exclamation rang out.
The students were all stunned. Their teacher was actually so outstanding to the extent that Bai Wenzhang wanted to choose him as his successor?
“In the future, the study of spirit runes will become the signboard subject of our Central Province Academy.”
Li Ziqi was very happy.
Since Bai Wenzhang could give such valuable books to Sun Mo, it meant that he would also hand over all the research results.
These research results were an accumulation of an unknown number of experiments that the manor had conducted over centuries. Now, all of this would become the Central Province Academy’s ‘wealth’.
Naturally, the prerequisite was that the Central Province Academy had the ability to digest this.
“Although the study of spirit runes cannot be compared to alchemy or weaponsmithing, it is also considered one of the top five most popular subjects.”
Ying Baiwu’s eyes brightened. “We have struck it rich!”
Li Ziqi mentally mused that after the Spiritwave Cannon appeared in the world and self-repairing spirit runes shocked everyone, the study of spirit runes would become one of the top three subjects, ranking alongside alchemy and weaponsmithing.
Because at that time, spirit runes would possess the strength to change the world.
Just when Sun Mo and the other students were as busy as ants moving home, Lu Zhiruo encountered a huge trouble where she was.
