The heavy doors of the Grand Meeting Hall clicked shut, leaving only the supreme echelons of the Jia Nan Outer Academy sealed within the obsidian-lined room.
The suffocating, absolute pressure that had pinned Teacher Ruo Lin to the floor vanished in an instant. The white-haired Deputy Headmaster, Hu Gan, let out a soft, amused chuckle that seemed to instantly banish the severe, god-like aura he had projected just moments before.
He leaned back in his grand chair, steepling his fingers, and looked at the circle of Core Elders.
"Well then," Hu Gan said, the atmosphere in the hall lightening considerably. "Since we have finished discussing the anomaly that is Xiao Ning, let us take a moment to discuss all of you."
The Dou Huangs seated around the table startled slightly, exchanging confused glances. The Head of the Combat Department raised an elegant eyebrow. "Discuss us, Vice Principal? Has there been an issue with the departmental budgets?"
Hu Gan shook his head gently, a wide, knowing smirk spreading across his wrinkled face.
"Ah, save the innocent act for the freshmen," Hu Gan teased, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Do not tell me you old foxes are not already cooking up dozens of underhanded ways to poach that boy into your respective departments. I know you all too well. You look like a pack of starved wolves staring at a piece of prime spiritual meat."
Several of the ancient, terrifyingly powerful elders suddenly looked like children caught stealing from the kitchens. They coughed awkwardly into their fists, suddenly finding the obsidian table incredibly interesting to look at.
The Head of the Alchemy Department, however, was brazen enough to meet the Vice Principal's gaze. The portly man let out a hearty, booming laugh.
"Ahem... well, Deputy Headmaster, you cannot blame us," the Alchemy Head stated bravely, adjusting his robes. "A youth with a Mid Mortal State soul and a Dao of Compassion? That is a once-in-a-century seedling! If I can get him to hold a medicinal cauldron, my department's prestige will skyrocket for the next fifty years."
The Alchemy Head then leaned forward, lowering his voice into a conspiratorial, highly secretive whisper. "Besides, Deputy Headmaster... do not tell me you haven't thought of your own methods to secure his loyalty? Ah, I know something."
Hu Gan raised a single, snowy eyebrow. "Oh? Enlighten me."
"Do you not have a certain genius granddaughter?" the Alchemy Head prodded, a sly grin on his face. "The little 'Demon Girl' of the academy? She is unmatched in talent and beauty. You could always try to curry favor with the boy through her. A little youthful romance has bound many a wandering grandmaster to a sect before!"
At the mention of his granddaughter, Hu Gan's mouth gave a violent, involuntary twitch.
Truthfully, the Deputy Headmaster's tactical mind had already considered the possibility—but only for a fleeting, terrifying moment. Hu Jia was a spectacular combat genius, but her personality was a blazing, chaotic inferno. She was notoriously rebellious, practically terrorized her male suitors, and refused to conform to anyone's expectations.
'If I throw my chaotic, fiery Hu Jia at a youth who embodies the absolute, tranquil stoicism of a silent mountain...' Hu Gan thought, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. 'Would he even react to her beauty? Or would he just brush her off entirely, infuriating her and causing a catastrophic duel in the middle of the courtyard?'
"All of our own descendants are frankly not good enough to catch the eye of a monster like that. Not like your granddaughter," the Alchemy Head continued, sighing exasperatedly. "I truly envy you on this front, Vice Principal. You have the ultimate bargaining chip."
Before Hu Gan could even formulate a response, the Head of the Combat Department—the elegant woman who radiated a sharp, lethal aura—leaned back in her chair and let out a sultry, teasing laugh.
"Well, if our descendants are lacking, perhaps we should simply take matters into our own hands," she joked, her eyes glinting with wicked mischief. "I could always try to personally instruct the boy. You know, make the young man's stoic heart flutter a bit. It is a well-known fact that unique, deeply mature men are often hopelessly attracted to older, experienced women."
The collective eyebrows of every other elder at the obsidian table violently twitched.
The Alchemy Head nearly choked on his own saliva at the scandalous suggestion. Even Vice Principal Hu Gan had to cover his mouth to mask a dry, awkward cough.
The sheer absurdity of the notoriously ruthless Combat Head trying to play the delicate seductress to a sixteen-year-old swordsman was simply too much to process. By unspoken, unanimous consent, the entire council immediately dropped that terrifying impossibility.
Returning to a more realistic strategy, Hu Gan felt a sudden swell of pride as a grandfather, but his mind continued to spin rapidly. How could he bridge the gap between his wild granddaughter and the stoic swordsman?
Then, a brilliant, highly tactical realization struck him.
'Wait... Ruo Lin's report explicitly stated that Xiao Ning is incredibly protective of and close to his older sister, Xiao Yu,' Hu Qian strategized internally, his eyes lighting up with the cunning of a master chess player.
'A direct approach on Xiao Ning will fail. He is an impenetrable fortress. But the sister... she is the open gate. If I can subtly suggest to Hu Jia that she should befriend this Xiao Yu girl... then by extension, my granddaughter will naturally enter Xiao Ning's inner circle.'
It was a flawless, subtle backdoor strategy.
"Ahem," Hu Qian coughed, quickly masking his internal scheming with a serious expression. While he had been plotting his granddaughter's social life, the other elders had begun intensely strategizing amongst themselves on how to casually bump into Xiao Ning in the library or the training halls.
"Alright, that is enough plotting," Hu Gan sighed, waving a hand to silence the murmurs. He fixed them all with a stern, absolute look.
"Listen to me carefully," the Deputy Headmaster commanded. "Do your things, make your offers, but keep your interference as minimal as possible. Remember the verdict. Do not disrupt his daily routine. And above all... if you offer him a place in your hall and he says no, do not push further. Is that absolutely understood? If any of you harass that boy and drive him away from Jia Nan Academy, I will personally throw you into the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower for a month."
The Core Elders stiffened, all nodding knowingly. They were desperate for talent, but they were not foolish enough to smother a prodigy to death. They would try to court him within reasonable limits. After all, the ultimate goal was the growth of the academy, and an anomaly like Xiao Ning was their greatest asset.
"The meeting is dismissed," Hu Gan announced, standing up from his chair.
The Dou Huangs stood, offered their deep respects to the Deputy Headmaster, and vanished from the room one by one, moving with the fluid, silent grace of phantoms.