268: Chapter 268 Are you still hiring teachers here?

Inside the massive public laboratory, the black smoke from the furnace explosions had not yet fully dissipated.

Ji Ruxue clenched her fists tightly, her deep blue eyes shimmering with an unprecedentedly complex light.

Watching those Human Race students who spat out a mouthful of blood, swallowed a Blood Restoration Pill, and immediately lunged back at the test benches like mad dogs, a cord deep in her mind was profoundly struck.

"That's not how you draw composite runes."

A cold voice with a hint of disdain suddenly rang out in the noisy laboratory.

The few students gathered in front of the test bench were stunned for a moment. They all turned their heads to look at the purple-haired girl who had walked up behind them at some point, dressed like a delinquent girl.

"You understand runes?"

One of the lead students frowned.

Although he was only at the mere Golden Core Stage, he was considered a little Genius in the Outer Court of the Talisman Department, so he naturally didn't like being ordered around by an outsider.

Ji Ruxue didn't waste words; she didn't even have the desire to explain.

She extended her fair and slender fingers. Without the aid of any Talisman Pen or Cinnabar, she casually traced in the Void Realm.

"Buzz—!"

A streak of deep blue spiritual energy instantly condensed into threads in mid-air.

In less than half a breath's time, a complex composite rune array, flickering with faint lightning, floated out of thin air before everyone.

"The core node of a Third-rank Explosive Flame Talisman has a fire attribute and is extremely violent. You forced the integration of a Second-rank Gale Talisman; wind fans the flames, so it's no wonder the furnace exploded."

Ji Ruxue pointed expressionlessly at the runes in mid-air, her tone sounding as if she were lecturing a group of idiots who couldn't even recognize a single word.

"Neutralizing it with an ice-attribute array? I can't believe you thought of that—that's putting the cart before the horse! The correct way is to use the opening stroke of the Ethereal Escape Talisman as a buffer zone, establishing a miniature spiritual energy circulation valve between the gale and the explosive flame."

"Watch closely, just like this. You bunch of idiots!"

Ji Ruxue tapped lightly with her finger, and the composite rune in mid-air instantly burst with blinding light.

There was no furnace explosion, no violent spiritual energy leakage, only a restrained killing intent perfectly controlled within a small space, ready to erupt with terrifying power at any moment!

"This... this!!!"

The students who had just been distressed by the furnace explosion stared fixedly at the perfect composite rune, their hands trembling with excitement.

Two of them tugged at their hair frantically, their eyes bursting with a ghost-like fanatical light:

"Genius! What a Genius conception!!!"

"A buffer zone... a spiritual energy circulation valve... Heavens! How did we not think of such a Genius-like design!!!"

"A Divine Being! May I ask your esteemed name, Senior?!"

"Senior, please accept our bow! Please take us as your disciples!"

Under Ji Ruxue's stunned gaze.

The students who had been somewhat wary of her just a moment ago now bowed deeply to her without the slightest hesitation.

There was no trace of jealousy or resentment in their eyes; there was only the purest fanaticism for the Great Dao of Runes and respect for the principle that 'the accomplished are the teachers.'

Ji Ruxue stood there dazed.

She tightly bit her moist lower lip, as an indescribable bitterness and complex shock instantly surged into her heart.

Once upon a time.

In the Heavenly Talisman Realm, far away at the edge of the sky, in her own hometown.

She had also once excitedly shown the brand-new rune arrays she had spent countless efforts to deduce to the clan elders and the younger generation of her age.

But what she received was not this kind of pure praise and thirst for knowledge.

Instead, it was all sorts of cold mockery, sarcasm, and overt and covert exclusion.

"The Rune Clan's Legacy is already perfect. What are you, a little brat, doing blindly altering ancient methods? It's simply heretical!"

"Hmph, dressing in strange clothes all day and locking herself in her Immortal Cave to draw runes—who is she acting all high and mighty for?"

"She's an outlier! It serves her right for having no friends!"

Those so-called 'favored children of heaven' of the Rune Clan all called her a freak behind her back.

But only Ji Ruxue knew in her heart.

She cared about the glory of the Rune Clan more than anyone! She wanted to lead the Rune Clan to break the curse of decline and return to the splendor of the era of the Ancient Great Emperors!

However, when the entire clan was slacking off, fighting over those pitiful scraps and wasting away in internal friction.

Her solitary efforts and struggles became a sharp blade piercing the facade of their incompetence, becoming a thorn in everyone's side.

Those parasites excluded her not because she had done anything wrong.

But because she was too strong, too much of a high-achiever, and reflected their weakness and incompetence!

"Idiots... a bunch of idiots."

Ji Ruxue took a deep breath, forcing down the mist rising in her eyes.

She coldly dropped a curse and, without responding to the students' fanatical pleas for her to stay, turned and strode out of the laboratory.

Only, this time.

Her back, which had been filled with wariness and hostility, seemed to have quietly shed some heavy burdens.

Ji Ruxue continued toward the depths of the academy.

Along the way.

What she saw was a super academy whose scale had expanded to a thousand times its previous size, enough to rival the scale of the alien city-states of the past.

Here, immortal cultivation was no longer a metaphysics created behind closed doors in deep mountains.

But a rigorous 'cyber science' that could be decomposed, researched, and pushed forward by countless people together!

As the number one capital city of the Yuchuan Realm and the absolute capital of the Human Race in the Three Thousand Upper Realms.

The current Tianshu City and this Great Qin Royal Cultivation Academy were like an interstellar train that had ignited and was frantically accelerating.

It carried a terrifying, unstoppable momentum that crushed all old classes, roaring forward!

Anything that dared to stand in the way of this train, whether it was the high and mighty God Race or those decayed ancient concepts, would be crushed to pieces by this terrifying collective torrent.

"I admit..."

Ji Ruxue stopped her steps, looking up at the azure sky illuminated by the light of various Formations, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curling into a slight arc.

"I seem to... have started to like this place a bit."

Unwittingly, Ji Ruxue had already crossed the Outer Court area and arrived at the academy's core.

Ahead was a grand mountain gate enveloped by a Grand Unity Golden Immortal Formation.

On the plaque, the eight characters [Inner Court Restricted Area, No Entry for Outsiders] were carved in a style like flying dragons and dancing phoenixes.

Ji Ruxue was about to step inside to investigate further.

*Whoosh!*

A figure appeared before her like a ghost, blocking her outside.

It was a Human Race Sword Cultivator wearing tutor's robes, having a cultivation of the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

"My apologies, Fellow Daoist. Ahead is the academy's Inner Court. Without an Inner Court test qualification certificate or a letter of recommendation from the Dean, you cannot enter."

The Sword Cultivator tutor's tone was neither humble nor arrogant, and he did not back down despite the Four-path Golden Immortal pressure emanating from Ji Ruxue.

He pointed to a side hall nearby: "If you wish to test into the Inner Court, you can go to the Admissions Office over there to sign up for the unified entrance exam."

Ji Ruxue stopped and looked at the tutor blocking her way.

She did not fly into a rage at being blocked, as she would have in the Heavenly Talisman Realm.

Nor did she explain her noble status as a 'Divine Maiden.'

She just stood there quietly.

An aura of a Talisman Dao Grandmaster, which she could not hide even if she tried, naturally emanated from her young and hot body.

Ji Ruxue chewed the Spiritual Plant chewing gum in her mouth and raised an eyebrow, her deep blue eyes shimmering with a hint of wildness.

She looked at the Sword Cultivator tutor and asked seriously:

"Your place here..."

"Are you still hiring teachers?"