"What a monstrous talent!"
"Even the top talents of first-rate Guilds can hold a candle to her!"
"I never thought Wu Lingling's talent would actually surpass that of Wu Xiaoxiao's!"
Shortly after Wu Lingling exited her gaming cabin, voices of exclamation filled the arena. The Academy's instructors and various Guild executives, in particular, looked at Wu Lingling as if she were their golden goose. As for Luo Tiancheng, his eyes were close to popping out of their sockets as he looked at Wu Lingling in utter disbelief.
Impossible! How can Wu Lingling be this strong?
Gu Tong, the younger cousin of Shadow's current Guild Leader Gu Yiren, had actually lost to Wu Lingling even while having a numerical advantage. After this incident, Shadow's plans to expand its influence in the God's Domain Academy had thoroughly become a joke…
Meanwhile, unlike everyone else in the arena, Lin Yaoyue did not focus her gaze on Wu Lingling. Instead, she looked at Shi Feng, who sat in front of her.
So this was what he meant?
Lin Yaoyue had previously been confused when she heard Shi Feng saying, "It won't be interesting if I send too many." However, after witnessing this match, she found that Shi Feng's words indeed made sense.
With Wu Lingling's strength, if the girl gained two more people to support her, the match probably would've ended as soon as it began. Gu Tong's team wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to put up any resistance, and the match wouldn't have lasted for several dozen seconds.
However, after looking at Shi Feng for a moment, Lin Yaoyue couldn't help but sigh and look at the man with a sympathetic gaze.
Originally, Shi Feng could've relied on Wu Lingling to make a name for himself in the Academy and even secure a respectable position in Jin Hai City.
Unfortunately, it was a sin to possess treasure without having the strength to protect it!
In the current era, God's Domain had already become a second world for people. In fact, its importance even surpassed that of the real world. After all, people could essentially double their lifespans by living in God's Domain. Thus, God's Domain had also become a place of competition for both individuals and competition. Meanwhile, organizations seeking to secure a better standing in God's Domain needed to recruit highly talented individuals.
Although Gu Tong was recognized as a genius by God's Domain Academy, he could only be regarded as such in a third-rate city like Jin Hai City. One could find many other "geniuses" like him in the various first-rate Guilds. Thus, none of the various first-rate Guilds in God's Domain had deemed it necessary to poach him before he met the Academy's requirements to join a Guild.
Previously, this was also the case for Wu Lingling. Although the first-rate Guild Dazzle Wave had already shown signs of trying to recruit Wu Lingling, that was only because of Wu Xiaoxiao's influence and Wu Lingling's relatively good talent. If it weren't for her elder sister, Wu Lingling definitely wouldn't have received such treatment.
However, the situation was different now!
The talent Wu Lingling displayed had already surpassed that of Wu Xiaoxiao, the Academy's current star, let alone Gu Tong. The various first-rate Guilds would definitely fight to recruit such a talent.
Shi Feng was merely a junior instructor at the Academy who possessed no backing whatsoever. The Academy wouldn't allow Shi Feng to nurture a top-tier talent like Wu Lingling. After all, Wu Lingling was the Academy's chance to make a name for itself throughout the country. The Academy's influential senior instructors probably wouldn't let go of this opportunity, either.
Apart from Lin Yaoyue, many of the intermediate instructors also looked at Shi Feng with sympathetic gazes. After all, every one of the Academy's senior instructors had already run to the Academy's dean by now, evidently trying to secure her as their apprentice. Moreover, Senior Instructor Qi was even among these people. Not only did Instructor Qi possess deep ties with Shadow, but he was also Gu Tong's instructor.
Although the Academy's rules indicated that students couldn't change their instructors for a year after they apprenticed themselves under an instructor, it wasn't impossible to circumvent this rule. So long as the students and instructors involved agreed to the change, students could change instructors at any time. As for top-tier geniuses like Wu Lingling, they wouldn't even need their instructor's consent to change instructors.
…
Wu Zhenyang, who was seated in the VIP section, was presently experiencing a huge headache.
Jin Hai City's God's Domain Academy had four senior instructors, and every one of them was an influential individual in Jin Hai City. They had nurtured many professional players throughout their career, and even the city's various large Guilds respected them greatly. Yet, now, because of Wu Lingling's fight, all four of these senior instructors had come running to him in an attempt to secure Wu Lingling as their student. They didn't even care that there were a bunch of Guild executives sitting around them…
"Dean, this is the first time our Academy has seen a student as talented as Wu Lingling. We must develop her using the best resources available."
"That's right. Shi Feng is merely a newly-hired junior instructor. He doesn't have any resources in God's Domain, either. The responsibility of nurturing Wu Lingling is too heavy for him. You should leave it to me instead."
"Dean, I've helped nurture many professional players for the Academy these past few years, but I have never encountered a truly excellent sapling. How about letting me nurture Wu Lingling? I promise she will have a much brighter future than Wu Xiaoxiao! I can even guarantee that she will make it into the A-League!"
Three of the four senior instructors blabbered away like desperate salesmen in front of Wu Zhenyang, their usual arrogance nowhere to be seen. When the various Guild executives sitting nearby saw this scene, they couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, shortly after the three senior instructors finished their sales talk, Instructor Qi, the youngest out of the four senior instructors, looked at Wu Zhenyang and solemnly said, "Wu Lingling's talent is exceptional, Dean. If you are willing to let Wu Lingling come under my wing, I promise to give her a training slot in World Domination's branch headquarters!"
As soon as Instructor Qi made his offer, the other three senior instructors and various Guild executives couldn't help but gasp. None of them had expected Instructor Qi to be willing to pay such a huge price.
As a Super Guild, World Domination was a bona fide titan in God's Domain. It was an existence that far surpassed the various first-rate Guilds.
Although they had no idea how Instructor Qi had managed to form a connection with a Super Guild like World Domination, the fact that he was willing to part with a training slot in World Domination was simply absurd. Even if it was only a branch headquarters' training slot, it was still something countless geniuses sought to obtain. The training one could acquire through this training slot was something no first-rate Guild could ever hope to provide.
If Wu Lingling could receive World Domination's training slot, her future would be limitless!
"This…" Wu Zhenyang hesitated to make a decision. After thinking for a long time, he looked at the four senior instructors in front of him and said, "I cannot arbitrarily agree to your requests. This matter requires the approval of Instructor Shi and Wu Lingling herself. If the two of them agree to the change, I won't have any problems with it, either."
"Is that so?"
Wu Zhenyang's words put the four senior instructors into thought for a moment. Then, without saying anything more, the four of them turned around and left.
Wu Zhenyang had already made it clear with his words that he did not wish to offend anyone and that he wouldn't meddle in this affair. Thus, it was up to them to persuade Wu Lingling to become their apprentice.
As for Shi Feng, he was a non-factor. He was merely a junior instructor in the Academy, after all. He had nothing to offer Wu Lingling. According to the rumors they heard, he was even someone dismissed by Shadow. So long as Wu Lingling agreed to become their apprentice, it wouldn't matter even if Shi Feng opposed the change.
After the four senior instructors left the VIP section, Wu Zhenyang and the various Guild executives returned their attention to the central display. However, after witnessing the match between Wu Lingling and Gu Tong's team, it became a little boring to watch the matches of the other students.
Two hours later, the freshman competition ended without any suspense. To nobody's surprise, Wu Lingling became the competition's champion and won the privilege of visiting the Secret Pavilion's branch headquarters a few days later, earning the envy of Gu Tong and the other freshmen.
After the freshman competition ended, Gu Tong went out of his way to appear before Wu Lingling and enthusiastically declared, "Just you wait, Wu Lingling! You might have won this time, but don't think I'll just let you have Instructor Qi's training slot in World Domination so easily!"
After saying so, Gu Tong turned around and left. However, despite his arrogant statement, none of the freshmen nearby thought that he was being overconfident. After all, everyone present was aware that Gu Tong's cousin was Gu Yiren, Shadow's current present and a genius nurtured internally by World Domination. The resources he had access to far surpassed that of the average person.
However, Wu Lingling couldn't help but be confused by this situation. Since when did she possess a training slot in World Domination?
"Ignore that crazy bastard, Class Rep! Instructor Shi told us to get online as soon as the competition ends!" Qin Wuchen reminded Wu Lingling when he saw her deep in thought. "We'll be exploring the Withered Ruins' inner region next! We might miss the chance to get in if we're late!"
Upon hearing Qin Wuchen's words, Wu Lingling quickly snapped out of her daze and followed Qin Wuchen to the Academy's rest area.
…
God's Domain Academy, Instructor's Rest Area:
Just as Shi Feng was about to enter one of the private rooms and log into God's Domain, a familiar figure approached him. This person was none other than Luo Tiancheng, the right-hand man of Shadow's director Lan Hailong. At this moment, though, instead of the hostile and contemptuous expression he previously wore, Luo Tiancheng currently wore a wide smile on his face.
"What are you looking at me like that for, Instructor Luo?" Shi Feng calmly asked as he looked at the hindrance blocking his way. "Do you have some good news to tell me?"
"You guessed correctly. I did come here with good news," Luo Tiancheng said, nodding. "The Academy's Senior Instructor Qi has set his sights on Wu Lingling, so Director Lan plans to give you a chance. So long as you hand over the position of Wu Lingling's instructor, Director Lan will allow you back into Shadow. Although you won't be able to return to the Guild Leader position, it shouldn't be a problem for you to become a team leader for one of the Guild's second-line teams. With that position, you won't have to worry about money for the rest of your life."
"I see." Shi Feng had more or less expected something like this to happen, so he wasn't surprised by Luo Tiancheng's "good news." Calmly, he said, "In that case, I'll have to trouble you to pass a word to Director Lan, Instructor Luo."
"What is it?" Luo Tiancheng asked with a puzzled look.
"Scram!"