Chapter 282: Chapter 274: Someone Is Panicking

Gu Ming had been writing his thesis draft in a corner, unnoticed and drawing little attention.

Few people knew him—only the twenty-four other contestants from his province. The rest of the candidates were unfamiliar with him.

Everyone was writing their drafts, yet no one had managed to summon the Hall of the Great Dao.

This was mainly because the truly talented Array geniuses were still racking their brains for final optimizations and hadn’t finalized their papers yet.

They were all aiming to receive the best possible Holy Light certification the moment their Array theses took final form.

Who would have thought that the candidate to first summon the Hall of the Great Dao would cause such a huge commotion?

And it just had to be from a forgotten spot in the Southwest corner. Everyone silently counted the colors of the light shining down from the sky:

One color, two colors, three colors... Four colors!

At this count, Jiang Jinling’s eyes widened in disbelief from within the crowd. "Four colors?"

It was no exaggeration to say that an Array thesis capable of earning a Four-Colored Holy Light was incredibly formidable, as rare among students as a national treasure like a panda.

Even the Array instructors in the back rooms couldn’t claim they could write many Four-Colored Array theses in their entire teaching careers.

A researcher who could produce a single paper worthy of a Four-Colored Holy Light within a year was already considered a highly capable Array researcher.

Not to mention, the threshold for acceptance by the Hall of the Great Dao had been rising in recent years.

An Array thesis that would have earned a Four-Colored Holy Light in the past would only be rated as Tri-Colored today.

The Hall of the Great Dao’s rules for inclusion changed with the times, its standards constantly increasing.

Many professors speculated that as the modern Array system became more complete, innovation grew more difficult. The rising overlap with existing Arrays led to lower evaluations for newer ones.

Under these circumstances, for Gu Ming to receive a Four-Colored Holy Light certification for his Array truly proved he had real skill.

"Heh heh, I said it was an S Level rating, and it’s S Level. So, to all you instructors who were just arguing for an A+ Level rating, how about it? Feel like changing your grading standards?"

Elder Huo said with a grin, his eyes narrowed, looking thoroughly pleased with their misfortune.

He was old and couldn’t care less about the reputations of these big shots in the Array Domain.

Backed by his status, age, and numerous achievements in the Domain of Arrays, very few people present dared to contradict him.

And just as expected, the judges who had been arguing until they were red in the face over the A+ Level rating fell silent upon seeing the Four-Colored Holy Light certification from the Hall of the Great Dao.

They once again sent their Divine Sense into the Jade Treasure Pill Furnace to scrutinize Gu Ming’s creation, the "Ah Kun-Swallowing Tide Array," from the most rigorous perspective.

Just then, someone spoke up. "The thesis he wrote is different from the version we saw."

Someone else agreed, "Indeed. In the main text he submitted to us, Ah Kun’s Wave-Swallowing Technique ability was toned down. We should go to the site and see the original design."

"The four colors don’t mean we misjudged. It’s just that Gu Ming didn’t include the most essential parts in the version he submitted."

The instructors on site hurriedly made excuses, and some even started moving, intending to go to the examination hall to see the original text of Gu Ming’s Cultivation Technique.

Elder Huo chuckled for a couple of seconds, then his face suddenly darkened.

"Are you going to see the Array?

"It’s obvious you just want to snatch his original manuscript."

The moment he said this, the faces of the instructors who hadn’t caught on changed drastically. The Ruan Family members, in particular, were so anxious they practically jumped.

"You can’t snatch Gu Ming’s original manuscript!

"He’s signed with our Ruan Family! Don’t even think about competing with me for him!"

With that, they pushed through the crowd and rushed in Gu Ming’s direction.

Sure enough, several of the instructors who had given the A+ rating, trying to save face, had really set off to see the original thesis.

Elder Huo stroked his small mustache and mused,

’Based on the name of this Array, I bet Gu Ming hid something and didn’t write it all down honestly.’

After saying this, he stood up and stretched his stiff joints, which hadn’t moved in a long while.

"This old man will also go see what this original Cultivation Technique text really looks like."

Before his voice had even faded, he summoned his Dragon Pet. Riding the Flying Dragon, he kicked up a great gust of wind and arrived at the scene in an instant.

At this moment, Gu Ming was still bathed in the Holy Light from the Hall of the Great Dao, submerged in the sounds of tides and the gulping of swallowing waves.

Ah Kun was also by his side, enjoying the baptism of Holy Light, which deepened its understanding of the Wave-Swallowing Technique by another level.

The Wave-Swallowing Technique, which it had just reached Entry Level in, was now showing signs of a breakthrough. It faintly grasped the inspiration needed to elevate its control of the technique to the Master Level.

However, when it opened its eyes, it saw a group of middle-aged and elderly people staring at it with gleaming eyes.

Only after the Hall of the Great Dao gradually faded away did this group of people finally speak.

"You focus on your Cultivation Technique Study. Let us take a close look at this Array thesis and see if you missed writing anything down."

Gu Ming paused for a moment but didn’t object.

’The Array is conducted by Ah Kun, so I don’t care about the words on the paper. The knowledge is in my head; it can’t be stolen.’

He handed the thesis to Elder Huo, the most imposing figure in the crowd.

Elder Huo, looking hale and hearty, took the thesis and began to read it carefully, stroking his beard.

Just as he’d suspected, the thesis described the heavy use of Ah Kun’s Wave-Swallowing Combat Technique to manipulate the waves inside the Pill Furnace, with the perspective of control centered on the Pet Beast, supplemented by the Beastmaster.

In other words, the Pet Beast was the operator responsible for raising the water waves’ temperature, while the Beastmaster only handled macro-level planning and wasn’t involved in micro-level operations.

This placed extremely high demands on the Pet Beast’s operational ability. Unless a Low Tier Pet Beast possessed a high-precision Water Element Combat Skill, it would be impossible to accomplish.

No wonder the thesis Gu Ming submitted had downplayed the Pet Beast’s role and emphasized the Beastmaster’s Divine Sense ability.

After all, not every Pet Beast possessed a high-end Combat Technique like Ah Kun’s at a Low Tier stage.

From this perspective, there was nothing wrong with the thesis Gu Ming had submitted.

The original in his hands had greater technical depth, while the version submitted to the competition focused more on broad applicability and general use. Its technicality was slightly lower, but it was still just as groundbreaking.

Everyone exchanged glances. The debate over the A+ rating had completely vanished.

Holding the thesis that had been bathed in the Holy Light of the Hall of the Great Dao, they felt a profound weight in their hands.

After its baptism by the Four-Colored Holy Light, each sheet of paper weighed over a hundred pounds. The dozen or so pages stacked together weighed well over a thousand pounds.

The few of them were so engrossed in reading that they even forgot their judging duties. It wasn’t until a proctor came to remind them that they reluctantly put it down.

Before leaving, Elder Huo patted Gu Ming’s shoulder.

"Good kid, I see great things in you! How about coming to study at Wenquxing University?"

Wenquxing University was the nation’s top-ranked, most prestigious school, second only to the Royal Academy.

Elder Huo was an instructor at Wenquxing University, as well as an old professor who researched cutting-edge Arrays.

He was delighted to have found such a talent and wanted to take Gu Ming on as his disciple.

’Considering the Ruan Family’s attitude toward Gu Ming... perhaps the contract Gu Ming signed isn’t too binding. The university could help pay the breach-of-contract fee to sign a talented student like him.’

When Ruan Huaiyi heard this, he immediately looked over, his expression changing.

’It’s obviously a good thing that Gu Ming has caught the eye of an instructor from Wenquxing University. In fact, it was bound to happen sooner or later. But for Elder Huo to take a fancy to him before he’s even participated in an international competition... that has a different meaning. It’s tantamount to the man wanting to take him as a disciple.’

The Ruan Family had their sights set on Gu Ming precisely because they wanted to invest heavily in him to solidify their circle of connections in the Capital.

Right now, the Ruan Family and Gu Ming only had a business partnership; it hadn’t yet reached a stage where they were inseparable. This made Ruan Huaiyi feel a little anxious.

"Gu Ming, our Ruan Family’s cooperation with you... we can discuss it further." He was so anxious that he sent the message directly with his Divine Sense, not daring to speak aloud.