Everybody's attention shifted towards the newcomer by Dean Zhu Lao's side.

"What an interesting thing….It seems like some sort of key," said the white-robed youthful man standing next to Dean Zhu Lao.

He bent further to zoom in on the artifact leaving only a few millimeters of gap between his face and the blue fairy object.

It took only a second before Dean Zhu Lao reacted.

"Vice chancellor Wu Ling, it's nice of you to show up, especially with your busy schedule and the entrance examinations for new students just around the corner," Dean Zhu Lao said as he laughed patting the white-robed man's back.

Mmmh!

The man offhandedly nodded as his attention was solely focused on the object.

Dean Zhu Lao on seeing his absorbed reaction that ignored everything else could only smile as he shook his head. It was a familiar occurrence for the man in question. Whenever he found something that drew his interest he would forego everything else and devote all his attention to it.

It therefore came as a surprise when he was made the vice-chancellor, as the job involved juggling multiple things at once especially with the chancellor always absent more so in the last century.However, despite his inability to focus on anything else when his interest has been piqued, during his tenure as the Vice-chancellor he has handled the running of the institute splendidly.

Yang Qing and the rest including some of the domain experts had a look of respect and awe toward the youthful-looking Vice-chancellor. Some of the guests present had been his students once. Though by the time Yang Qing joined the institute he had stopped teaching and focused on the administrative aspect. With the number of students increasing he didn't have time to give classes on the side.

Though Yang Qing may have not been taught by the vice chancellor he had heard of him from the instructors who would regale them with tales of their time as students and being under the tutelage of the Vice-chancellor. They always sang high praises of him.

His nurturing skills were one of the reasons behind the awe in everyone's eyes and the other was he was one of the 13 people who have been recorded to have reached the 14,000-meter mark of the Spirit howling mountain which is very close to the mountain's peak which stands at a height of 16,800 meters.

The Spirit howling mountain was a strange natural treasure owned by the Order whose origins from what Yang Qing had heard was from the seemingly normal and vast Blue origin ocean.

It was one of the founding treasures of the Order and one of the reasons behind its rapid growth.

Just like its name, the Spirit howling mountain was filled with the incessant sounds of different spirits. Some would be human, others spirit beasts, or another random race that was neither a human nor a spirit beast.

Whatever form it took the sounds had one thing in common, their main purpose was to attack and break the souls of those who heard them. The attack took various forms; beguilement, illusions whose distinction from reality was a thin line, a direct frontal attack on the soul, and many other varied means.

Due to its unique nature, the Spirit howling mountain was used by the Order to temper the spirits of its members. They did put special measures in place to reduce fatality as anyone who had their souls broken in there would suffer real death. However, despite those measures, fatalities did happen from time to time along with long-term injuries that required years and years of recuperation.

With danger also came reward. Those who survived the torment and attack on their souls would have their souls refreshed and strengthened. There were even times when they'd gain sudden enlightenment which was usually tied to the source of the sound that tormented them. This is why the Order advocates for its members to scale the mountain despite its apparent risks. They also give out rewards and merit points depending on the level you reach. Every single person who scales the mountain has their progress automatically recorded on a special large white engraved platform at the bottom of the mountain for all to see.

Every progress one makes is like a badge of honor as the record has the names of all who have ever scaled that mountain for the past 500 years which is what makes the vice chancellor's record of being in the top 13 so awe-inspiring.

He reached the 14,000-meter mark when he was in the domain realm as those who reach the soul formation stage rarely climb the mountain due to the minimal benefits they get from it. So all the names recorded in the platform are the feats of those who climbed the mountain when they were in the domain realm and below, with the minimum threshold set at the foundation establishment stage.

From what Yang Qing had heard, the vice chancellor has been a soul formation expert for the past 100 years because he was formerly a member of the spirit council before he was transferred over to be the Insitute. And in those 100 years, those 13 names have remained unchanged though Yang Qing didn't know who the top 5 names were or what level they reached as their names were covered in fog.

As for the Vice-chancellor, he was in the 11th position having reached the exact height of 14,745 meters while Yang Qing's last recorded level was at 4,883 meters though he last climbed the Spirit howling mountain when he was only at the peak of the core formation stage as for his position he was too embarrassed to even think of it because it was in the quintuple digits and the lower spectrum at that.

…..

"I'll definitely reach the top 20,000 this time," thought Yang Qing as his eyes blazed with a fighting will. His thoughts of glory were mildly interrupted when the Vice-chancellor finally pried his eyes away from the blue fairy crystal.

"You intend to bring it to the tranquil valley right?" asked Vice chancellor Wu Ling.

"Yes, there are some things I will need to consult on and also as a precautionary means it's safer to experiment on it at the Tranquil peaks rather than here or at the institute," said Dean Zhu Lao.

"Mmh, I agree. Speaking of the institute that reminds me, You will be providing lectures back to back to make up for the time you spent in your seclusion and your classes will not be restricted only to the seniors but also the new entrants and the rest of the juniors.

This is in addition to the specialized training you give to the instructors in your faculty.

This will be your schedule for the foreseeable future until I can deem those 50 years have been made up for. So do prepare yourself," austerely said Vice-chancellor Wu Ling.

He had a sudden shift in his demeanor from the earlier archeology nerd to a stern superior.