Chapter 36

Luo En was somewhat surprised: "How did you know..."

"Hehe... I have been in this market for many years and am very familiar with the school's process."

She said while taking a crystal bottle from a locked drawer: "Return this to you first."

Luo En took the crystal bottle and recognized that it was the bottle of artificial star dew that Huo Huo Erte had given him.

"Remember? I promised you I would keep it for you temporarily and return it to you once you passed the apprentice assessment."

Lady Ailan said, the severity on her face melting a little, revealing a sense of relief similar to an elder toward a junior: "Now that you have broken through, it should return to your hands."

"I almost forgot about this agreement." Luo En admitted honestly: "Thank you for keeping it, my lady."

"And this." Lady Ailan handed him another letter sealed with a strange seal: "Take this letter of recommendation and show it to the duty personnel when applying for the initial resource allocation."

Luo En took the letter in confusion, the seal on it looked extremely ancient: "This is..."

"As an entry-level apprentice, you are qualified to apply for a resource allocation from the school." Lady Ailan explained patiently: "Generally speaking, the quality and quantity of resources will be determined based on your potential rating."

She paused, a flash of concern in her eyes: "Given your initial aptitude and breakthrough timing, the rating is probably not very high. This letter of recommendation should be able to help you increase your permission level by one."

Luo En's heart warmed; he had not expected such care at all: "My lady... I really don't know how to thank you."

"Stinky brat, don't be so sentimental."

Hearing this, Lady Ailan immediately returned to her usual severity and waved her hand as if driving away an annoying fly:

"I just think you are more pleasing to the eye than those guys who have high expectations but low abilities, and I don't want to see you suffer losses in the school for no reason."

Luo En put away the letter of recommendation and the star dew, somewhat not knowing what to say, and was just about to brew some emotions to say some words of gratitude...

"Alright, alright, get out of here quickly, don't delay me from closing the shop."

Lady Ailan waved her hand, her tone impatient, but a gentle light flickered in those deep green eyes:

"Don't forget, come to work on time tomorrow."

………………

The school's central hall is located in the outer area of the Black Mist Jungle and is an ancient and magnificent building.

Dozens of night-luminous stones are embedded in the towering spire, which can emit a soft light even in the darkest night, illuminating an area around it.

Luo En walked slowly toward the entrance of the hall, a trace of nervousness involuntarily arising in his heart.

Although he had confirmed through physical practice that he had reached the entry-level apprentice standard in spiritual power, this was his first time experiencing formal qualification certification.

"It's best not to attract a large crowd of onlookers like Luo Ke..." He calculated in his heart: "That feeling of being watched by others like a monkey is really not very pleasant."

He recalled the scene when Luo Ke tested his spiritual power—almost half of the probationary apprentice dormitory area was attracted, surrounding the center of the hall and pointing fingers.

That scene would make him feel disgusted at any time, and in an environment like the Black Mist Jungle, being overly conspicuous meant potential danger.

Luo En had always been a cautious person, especially after experiencing the conflict with Ma Kusi, he understood the importance of keeping a low profile even more.

Fortunately, there were not many people in the central hall at this time, and most apprentices were busy with their own experiments or performing tasks outside.

Luo En relaxed a little and walked slowly toward the duty area in the corner.

The duty area is a relatively independent space in the hall, where several apprentices in gray-white uniforms are handling various affairs.

Luo En observed carefully for a while and chose a female duty personnel who looked relatively free and had a kind face.

"Hello, I am here for the qualification certification for an entry-level apprentice." He maintained a polite but neither humble nor arrogant attitude.

The duty personnel looked up at him; she looked to be in her thirties, with a good face but a little tired, and the light blue badge on her chest indicated that she was an intermediate apprentice.

"Name?" Her tone was official, but there was no impatience.

"Luo En La Er Fu."

"Affiliated area?"

"Probationary apprentice dormitory area, East Wing." Luo En answered concisely, trying not to attract unnecessary attention.

The duty personnel nodded, flipping through a thick book at hand, her fingers sliding quickly over it: "Your name doesn't seem to be on the breakthrough list predicted by the school?"

"Yes, I broke through in the solitary confinement room." Luo En answered truthfully.

The tip of the duty personnel's pen stopped; she looked up, a trace of surprise appearing in her eyes: "Solitary confinement room? There are no conditions for auxiliary meditation cultivation there."

"It is precisely because of this environment that it actually did me a big favor." Luo En gave his own explanation vaguely: "The environment isolated from the outside world allowed me to focus more on meditation."

The duty personnel looked him over for a few seconds, compared the information in her hand, and her eyes gradually became interested:

"Luo En La Er Fu... I found it. What was your spiritual power aptitude test result at the beginning?"

Luo En's heart tightened, but he remained calm on the surface: "Yes, ma'am."

"Sixth-grade star... only came to the Black Mist Jungle more than nine months ago..."

The duty personnel said somewhat incredibly, the surprise in her eyes even more obvious: "Being able to break through within the limited time with such spiritual power aptitude is indeed very unusual."

She closed the book and stood up: "Follow me, we need to conduct a formal spiritual power measurement."

Luo En breathed a sigh of relief; at least he didn't have to test in public in the center of the hall.

The duty personnel led him through the corridor to a small door marked with ancient runes.

Inside the door was an independent testing room, with a crystal ball similar to the one in the hall but smaller placed in the center of the room, surrounded by complex runes.

"Place your hand on the crystal ball and release your spiritual power." The duty personnel instructed, her tone calm, but the curiosity in her eyes could no longer be hidden.

Luo En nodded and placed his right hand lightly on the crystal ball.

He closed his eyes and, according to the rhythm of the meditation method he was proficient in, mobilized the spiritual power in his body steadily and orderly.

With the inflow of spiritual power, the crystal ball began to emit a soft light.

Dark red mist surged inside the ball, gradually forming a clear and stable symbol.

Unlike the blurry and extremely dim state when he first arrived, the current symbol was bright and solid, without the slightest fluctuation on the surface.

The duty personnel's pupils contracted slightly, obviously surprised by this result: "There are almost no impurities in the spiritual power fluctuations, and the stability is far beyond that of ordinary entry-level apprentices... How did you do it?"

(End of chapter)