Chapter 83: The Chosen One (Bonus Chapter for Reaching 4,000 Cumulative Recommendations)

Looking at the seventy or eighty girls before him, all eyes filled with anticipation, Chu Yun glanced at Anna's sparse group.

"You are all exceptional, but according to the rules, I can only select fifty candidates..."

The crowd grew tense, fearing they might be cast aside by Chu Yun. Although the most revered goddesses of life and magic in this world were women, societal prejudice in favor of men still lingered. Many among them had experienced unfair treatment, so when they heard someone was willing to speak up for them, they were deeply moved and placed their trust in Chu Yun.

"Anna is a responsible and capable teacher. Like you, she is a woman, and she rose from the slums to become a second-tier mage through her own efforts."

Anna felt a bit embarrassed by Chu Yun's praise, but his next words surprised her even more.

"So, I’ve decided to merge our classes. From now on, Anna and I will teach you together!"

Chu Yun's plan was well thought out; what would have required a full day of teaching now only needed half. Whether he taught fifty or a hundred made little difference to him.

Nelson raised an eyebrow—this new mage seemed fond of unconventional ideas. But this time, he didn’t object. He had known Anna for quite some time and recognized her as a fine mage.

Anna wholeheartedly supported Chu Yun’s proposal. In her eyes, Chu Yun was far more accomplished than herself; his understanding of magical fundamentals was so profound, even surpassing her own teacher.

With the two groups combined, Chu Yun didn’t bother picking members—he simply accepted everyone, planning to split the final prize evenly later.

As the first and second groups filled up, those worried about being eliminated due to large numbers began to sign up as well.

Some boys, whose intentions seemed questionable, tried to sneak into Chu Yun and Anna’s girls’ class, but Anna rejected them outright before Chu Yun even spoke.

With Chu Yun beside her, Anna seemed to gain newfound confidence, even starting to turn away students herself.

Although this stage was meant for students to choose their mentors, being directly refused by a mentor left them too embarrassed to insist.

Once all groups were finalized, Nelson announced the process for selecting the eliminated candidates.

To ensure fairness, the selection of eliminated candidates started with the last group. Only then did others realize Chu Yun’s strategy of teaming up with Anna.

"As expected of him—always finding ways to slack off," remarked the mentor who had previously suggested distributing the prize on the spot.

"Chu Yun, how should we choose the eliminated candidates? There are too many to test one by one," Anna asked in distress.

Chu Yun had a solution. "Don’t worry, leave it to me."

He stepped down from the mentors’ dais and walked among the lineup of a thousand students, who watched him nervously, awaiting his selection.

"Your talent is impressive—join the group," he said to a plain, petite girl, words she could scarcely believe.

"Ah, is it really me?" she asked, eyes wide.

"If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you," Chu Yun replied with a smile.

"I’m willing—of course I am! Thank you!" she exclaimed, running joyfully toward Chu Yun’s group. She had thought he would only select beautiful students, never expecting that a ‘ugly duckling’ like herself would be chosen.

Many shared her thoughts.

Chu Yun then picked nine more students he deemed promising; apart from the first girl, all were demi-human women. Women had low status in the Mage Association, and demi-human women were almost nonexistent.

But when Chu Yun used his divine fragment to sense them, he found that these demi-human girls, perhaps due to their closeness to nature, possessed remarkable divinity.

His divine fragment was only half complete, yet even so, by freely unleashing his spiritual power to observe the students, it was easy to discern who possessed greater divinity.

Divinity was not all-encompassing, but those with high divinity often achieved much. Using this method for mass selection was reasonably scientific.

Returning to his seat, Anna approached again. "Chu Yun, how did you judge their abilities? Can you share your method?"

"Of course, and if it’s a secret, I wouldn’t mind keeping it to myself," she added.

Chu Yun smiled. "I observed everyone during the previous group selections, analyzing the students’ performances and the mentors’ reactions."

Other mentors didn’t have such advantages; their safest approach was to select their own previous group members. Only Chu Yun, having finished his screening early, had the leisure to watch other groups.

"Chu Yun, I didn’t expect you to be so diligent from the start," Anna said, feeling a bit ashamed. She had also completed her screening early, but hadn’t reached his level.

Once all teams had selected their members, Nelson began the final phase.

"The first round of assessments is now complete. You have five days for special training. On the sixth day, the second and third rounds will take place at the newly built Mage Academy!"

"The second round is simple: master and cast a special spell."

This requirement sounded easy, but for those who had never practiced magic, it was nearly impossible.

In truth, the number of spots for this recruitment was already limited, and after reserved seats for nobility, even fewer remained. Five days was a daunting challenge for those with no foundation, but if they could learn a bit, even if eliminated, they might eventually master the spell with more time.

"President, what do you mean by ‘special spell’?" a mentor asked.

Nelson took out ten identical books from his spatial ring and declared, "These contain a minor spell. It was invented by Selena when she was five, by dismantling and simplifying a spell model."

"Even students who have never practiced magic can easily learn this spell. Five days is more than enough for those with talent."

Everyone’s gaze instinctively turned to Selena, the prodigy from the imperial capital. To accomplish such a feat at age five—she must truly be the chosen one of legend.

Nelson’s explanation eased the minds of students with no prior knowledge.

As for the third round, Nelson did not reveal the details—it would be personally conducted by him.

After distributing the books, the first round officially ended, though the crowd lingered, reluctant to disperse.

Anna, impatient, said, "Chu Yun, let’s start the special training right away!"

"No rush. Let them go back and prepare first. For the next five days, I plan to conduct closed training—unless there’s a special reason, no one is allowed to leave the training base," Chu Yun replied. Though usually laid-back, when he committed to something, he took it seriously.

After all, these students trusted him so deeply—he could not let them down.

"Alright, but where will the training base be?" Anna asked.