To be honest, Pan Ling was just being paranoid, or perhaps his smirking demeanor was really hard for the little girl to handle, and coupled with his previous bad behavior, it made her feel that using her abilities in this kind of situation was an opportunistic act... But in fact, if you have the ability, you should use it, otherwise what is the point of awakening to become an "Ascendant"?

Of course, if you can silence the other party and shake their mind without relying on your abilities, that would be an even more remarkable thing. But there's no problem using it. If she doesn't use such a suitable stage to show her skills, when will she?

What the hell?! Mr. Xu, how much psychological harm have you caused that young girl?! (Furious)

Why does it sound like I'm bullying her...? Xu Shicai doesn't think there's anything wrong with what she did. Didn't she use it when the Cat Cult was first established? Reading minds one by one in a noisy environment is the most suitable training for her, and it seems to be quite effective now.

In his estimation, Lu Baiyan was probably unaware of this and was being led by the nose by his foolish apprentice without realizing it... Although he was also a very capable "ascended one", his abilities focused more on time and space rather than spirit. Since his expertise was not relevant, it was useless to say anything.

Or perhaps, even if he really knows it, he just won't say it out loud—because that's what he's thinking, and saying it out loud wouldn't do him any good.

After all, he was still being watched—compared to his lack of understanding of Pan Ling, Xu Shi was certain that he knew the Vatican had placed eyes around him.

We're all Templars, so who doesn't know who? Otherwise, why would he start stammering and even running away when it comes to such a big issue as his stance? A single wrong word could cause a major problem.

But he had no way to expose what the Vatican was doing in secret, especially at this critical juncture—it was already difficult enough to come to Xu Shi under pressure, and if you deliberately cut off or erased the traces of being monitored, you would only end up admitting that you did have a problem and were having an affair with Xu Shi.

"oh……"

Pan Ling was still a little confused. So her master didn't object to her using her abilities. In fact, he thought it was great... No, it seemed that he had never objected at all. It was just that, as he said, he didn't allow her to read his mind. As for others, it was simply a matter of "if you have the ability, then listen to me," without any restrictions.

So why did I think that way? I'm even a little apprehensive... Hmm, it must be the fault of my bad teacher! Damn it!

"Then... if you were to give me a score, what score would you give me?"

Although she had some minor complaints, Xiaoling was generally happy with the bad teacher's affirmation, and couldn't help but ask a question, hoping to get a more specific answer.

You say you're satisfied, but how satisfied are you really? Please tell me what shortcomings there are, and I'll correct them if there are any and strive to improve if there aren't.

"Well..."

Xu Shi was both amused and exasperated. "Why are you acting like a primary school student, giving scores to everything?"

However, since it was rare for his apprentice to ask such a question, he wouldn't refuse. After careful consideration, he gave a very fair score: "If I were to give a score, I would give your performance this time... 98 points."

Pan Ling was overjoyed. So tall?!

It's really rare for the master to be so satisfied. Does this mean that Pan Xiaoling, you're finally going to make it big?

But before she could even enjoy her moment for a few seconds, Xu Shi poured cold water on her, saying, "A perfect score of one thousand."

"Oh, a perfect score is one thousand... Hmm?!"

The foolish apprentice, Qie Le, was suddenly dumbfounded when he heard Xu Shi say that.

"Is there...is there something wrong with what I did?"

She was starting to have doubts about life and wanted to find Xu Shi to get some answers.

"Well, there's almost nothing to criticize about how you treat Lu Baiyan. You're assertive when you need to be, and you're generous when you need to be."

Xu Shi said seriously, "I deducted two points just to prevent you from becoming arrogant."

"As for the remaining nine hundred points, that depends on your attitude towards your teacher."

"What...what's wrong with me?"

Pan Ling felt extremely wronged, racking her brains but unable to figure out what disrespect she had shown Xu Shi.

"Haven't you realized it yet?"

Xu Shi straightened his face. "What did you say to Lu Baiyan just now? 'Master'? Am I that old? I don't like hearing that. Deducting 900 points from you would be too lenient."

"?"

The clueless apprentice was completely bewildered. "Isn't this a term of respect? It's not like I'm actually saying you're old! Why are you so picky?"

Even the little girl couldn't help but mutter a few words about Tibetan in her mind... but she quickly realized what she meant.

Making a big fuss about something that isn't even a problem only represents one thing.

"Actually, Master, you just wanted to find an excuse to bully me, right..."

She frowned helplessly and muttered a complaint in a low voice.

"Hmm? What did you say, my dear disciple? I didn't hear you clearly."

Xu Shi looked at her with interest. "Or... do you think my grading was unfair?"

"No……"

With her wicked master's tyranny above her, how could Xiaoling dare to resist? She could only shake her head slightly, saying, "Master is right..."

Master is the most annoying, hmph!

Xu Shi enjoys bullying his apprentices, but others can't stand his behavior.

"That's enough, what kind of bullshit reason is that?"

Xie Qingyan rolled her eyes at him, "It's only because our apprentice is sensible and obedient. If it were someone else, the first thing they would do after graduating would be to cut you in half."

"That's right, Xiaoling did a good job this time. It's not right for you to bully her."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!