Child of Destiny

……

Shin continued to stare at the mysterious old man without knowing what to do next. Even though he was confident that the old man did not mean any harm about what just happened, he still could not help but become a little cautious.

After all, what he just experienced was not something pleasant.

Moreover, it seemed like he was the only person who could see the old man. He observed the surroundings and paid extra attention to the security personnel guarding the gates and overseeing the vehicles entering and exiting the academy.

It looked like no one noticed this old man at all despite him standing in the middle of the road.

The old man was not particularly blocking the road, it was still strange for such a person to stand in that place.

It was impossible to overlook someone standing in the middle of the road!

Beep! Beep!

Shin had only woken up from his daze state when he heard the car behind honking at him. He also saw the security guard urging him to move the car and not block the road, yet they still did not notice that old man.

Sighing deeply, Shin started the car and drove out of the academy.

He also did not forget to nod at the old man as he drove by before continuing on.

The old man stared at the Black Panther and got away until its silhouette completely disappeared from his vision. He then chuckled and repeated himself. “What an interesting fellow. I hope I see him again later so that I can see what he is capable of.”

“His foundation is not bad. His senses are also sharp. Even his Spiritual Sense is quite surprising – it has some characteristics similar to the Divine Senses of Venerable Realm Mentalists.”

“I wonder which disciple he is, and which organization has managed to nurture such a good talent.”

It was only at that moment when he turned his attention back to the Magical Ace Academy.

“Now, how should invite those old foxes to come out without causing any conflict?”

At times being too old and isolated from the civilization was not a good thing. He did not even have an old phone that could contact anyone.

********

In the hotel, Shin had just finished parking his car when his advanced watch started vibrating. His mind was still occupied with the mysterious old man standing in front of the academy, so he failed to respond to it.

It took him quite a few rings before he answered the call a little absentmindedly.

Click!

When he answered, there was a flash of light before a virtual screen was projected in front of it. It was only at that moment that he realized that it was a video call.

Moreover, the person who had called him was his Mentalism Teacher, Grandmaster Benn, who was also missing in action and could not be contacted along with Professor Plum.

“Tsk! Tsk! What took you so long to answer, little brat? Don’t tell me you are too focused on playing that game of yours.”

“Let me tell you. Even if it can help grow faster, you still can’t neglect your training in the real world!”

“And even if you have gained a certain level of mastery over your skills and techniques, you can’t become too confident and complacent! You still have to polish everything!”

“You also have to pay more attention to your Rune Mastery and Array Formations! You can’t neglect them no matter what! That is one of the bread and butter of my Mentalism Method!”

Shin sighed as he listened to the sermon of his Mentalism Teacher while thinking to himself. ‘Yep. That’s right. This is my Mentalism Teacher, he immediately started nagging right after the call connected just like a mother at home.’

“Don’t worry, teacher. I understand,” nodded Shin helplessly.

“It is good that you understand,” said Grandmaster Benn repeatedly along with the nods of his head.

Then, he suddenly said. “I heard from Old Henry and Old Plum that you have perfected the chapters of the ‘Four Symbol Scripture’.”

Shin immediately nodded and suddenly became a little excited, wanting to brag a little. “That’s right, teacher!”

“Even though I am not exactly the one who completed and perfected it, I am still the one who polished it!”

Grandmaster Benn squinted his eyes a little before asking. “What do you mean by that? Explain it to me in detail.”

Shin immediately complied as he could now consult his Mentalism Teacher about some things that had been troubling him recently.

Even though Professor Henry and Benedict were helping him greatly, it was still different when he was consulting his real Mentalism Teacher, especially when Grandmaster Benn was the original creator of the Mentalism Methods that he was practicing.

He started narrating everything and shared all his experiences that he had since the time he left the special training in the mountains and entered the academy.

He even told the old fatty about the Mentalism Swordsmanship that he had created inside the game to complement the new mentalism path that he was taking.

Grandmaster Benn could not hide his surprise while listening. But he did not find it strange, especially when he heard about Shin’s enlightenment during the crucial conjecture of his Mentalism Training.

He kind of expected that the special method that David had given to Shin had some mysteriousness in it and even perfected the Mentalism Method that he had created.

He knew where that special method, the Jade Kirin Scripture, had come from. And he was also aware that they might have expected that Shin was learning under him.

After all, his mother was almost half of a disciple of him.

Moreover, he also knew that that monstrous couple might have already foreseen Shin studying Mentalism under his tutelage given Evangeline’s gift in divination and Adam’s ability to read the fate from the stars.

Thus, Grandmaster Benn and Professor Plum had suspected that the ‘Jade Kirin Scripture’ had some secrets aside from using it to control one’s ‘Seed of Hatred’ when they learned that David was Evangeline’s disciple.

This was one of the reasons why they were confident of Shin being able to complete this complicated Mentalism Method.

Especially when Professor Plum received a version of a special training method to utilize the full capabilities of Demonic Qi and showed him a glimpse of the completion of his ‘Yin-Yang Arts’.

What shocked Grandmaster Benn was the fact that Shin had even created a mentalism swordsmanship that completely complemented the perfected version of the ‘Four Symbol Scripture’.

‘This kid’s talent in mentalism sure surpassed our imagination,’ thought Grandmaster Benn after listening.

Then, he cleared his throat and said. “Cough. Kid. don’t forget to send me your revised and perfected version of the ‘Four Symbol Scripture’. I don’t care about the swordsmanship since it is not my style.”

“You should help me, your teacher, fulfill my dream, and I will show you the full extent of this Mentalism Method when it reaches its peak.”

Shin chuckled a little when he heard those words and saw the slightly embarrassed look of his teacher. “Don’t worry, teacher. I will not forget you and the old geezer (Professor Plum).”

After that, Grandmaster Benn started guiding Shin and answering his student’s questions, clearing the doubts that the young man had.

It was only at the end when Grandmaster Benn had remembered his real purpose for this call. “Oh, right! Before I forget. I call you because I finally found a good teacher for your swordsmanship, particularly in sword-drawing style.”

“He is not as good as the person who is the best with that mentalism sword style, but he will not lag too far behind her when it comes to it. Although, he is not a Mentalist.”

He then paused for a moment before suddenly continuing. “But since you have created that unique mentalism swordsmanship of yours, I can now say that he is the perfect swordsmanship teacher that you can have.”

‘There is no doubt about it. If it is that old demon, then it will definitely be possible. He can even perfect it and reach a height that is beyond anyone’s imagination,’ he thought to himself.

Grandmaster Benn might not be able to help his student when it came to this swordsmanship that Shin had created, the Myriad Transformation Swordsmanship, since it was not his area of expertise. But he was confident that the swordsmanship teacher that he had found would be able to do it.

‘An ever-changing style with multiple secret methods mixed in it. What a familiar style. That old demon will surely become interested,’ thought the old fatty as he smiled mysteriously.

Grandmaster Benn gave Shin a few more instructions before ending the call.

…

Somewhere in the wilderness of the Soaring Continent, Grandmaster Benn was sitting at the edge of a cliff.

Right after he had ended the call, he suddenly remembered something. “Wait! I think I have not given that Old Demon any picture of Shin so that he can recognize him.”

“I also have forgotten to mention his name to that child,” he immediately realized his stupidity at this point.

Old Benn even started to think that he was becoming senile.

But thoughts only lasted for an instant as he brushed off the matter and threw it at the back of his mind. “Forget it. They will meet each other sooner or later anyway. And I am sure that Old Henry will take care of it.”

He repeatedly nodded his head before casting his gaze upfront.

Before him was a vast forest filled with tall and towering trees. Then above it was a huge fracture in the air that was slowly getting bigger as time went by.

Fragments of space could be visibly seen falling from that huge fracture like pieces of broken glass while spreading in every direction.

There was a golden sphere made of magical circles and mentalism runes entrapping that huge fracture in the air and trying the suppress it.

Seeing that the situation did not look well, Grandmaster Benn clicked his tongue repeatedly while complaining. “Tsk! Tsk! Those people from the Black Serpent Mafia have really done it this time. They have crossed the line.”

“I guess that couple may be right. Those ‘people’ may have infiltrated our ranks. Maybe ‘Snake Head’ is among them,” he mumbled before standing and dusting his Taoist robe.

“Since Old Monster Plum is no longer around, I just have to get serious now and do a better job. Once I am done with this, I will make sure to take a look at the revised and perfected version of the ‘Four Symbol Scripture’ that little rascal has.”

Then he spread his hands wide and started drawing series after series of mentalism runes in the air while chanting verses of mantras.

Responding to his actions, the huge spherical formation in the air suddenly compressed. It then started suppressing the huge spatial fracture, preventing it from spreading further.

…

Back in the hotel, Shin entered his room and quickly went to its center to meditate. He wanted to digest all the guidance that Grandmaster Benn had given him as soon as possible.

Since most of his questions were answered and doubts had been cleared, he could not help but feel a little enlightened. He had felt that he would be able to polish his Mentalism Path even further after this.

Right after he sat on the floor cross-legged and entered the meditation, he instantly entered the state of Solemn Silence.

Swoosh!

Right after that, his flashes of thoughts flooded his thoughts all of a sudden, making him a little overwhelmed. But he was able to quickly gather those thoughts and regain himself, digesting everything and further consolidating his foundation and knowledge.

Along with this, the Divinity Grade Mental Energy within him was subconsciously released, moving with a gentle flow and circling around him.

A few moments later, the whole room was filled with his Mental Energy. It was showing some minuscule but steady changes in them. It was improving and evolving while purifying the body of its host.

Among the changes that it had, three distinct properties could be seen, which also represented the current innate attributes that Shin had already awakened.

……