Chapter 319: 319

Antony Julians led Michelle, standing as Ana, to a courtyard to meet his brother, Marcus Julians. Marcus was also a member of the teachers’ council; he just wasn’t present when Ana was in the council building, because Antony was already there.

If the two were at the same spot at the same time, when the discussions concerned something or someone they both had an interest in, they would end up arguing and no conclusion could be reached.

So it was decided that Marcus wouldn’t be present.

The last time something like that happened, it was Antony who wasn’t allowed into the council building, so it was just fair they switched it up.

Entering the courtyard, Michelle saw another gray-haired man, looking similar to Antony. But unlike his brother, he had long hair like all the other teachers.

Marcus was sitting on a stone stool by a stone table, fidgeting with a notebook, writing something down.

But the moment he sensed his brother’s and another person’s presence, he turned around, his eyes locking on Ana. “So is she my student now?” he asked quickly.

Ana bowed her head in greeting. “I’m Ana Ostrich, and I hope not to disappoint you, teacher.”

“I knew it would end like this!” Marcus was clearly delighted. Standing up, he slapped his brother hard on the back.

Seeing her new teacher, Michelle understood that just like his brother, he was a strange figure. But she didn’t yet have enough time to interact with them to know what exactly was so different about them.

But that didn’t matter. Michelle was planning to stay in the Ostrich Academy for a while, so she had time to figure things out.

Turning his attention from Antony to Michelle, Marcus suddenly had an idea. “Listen, my student. How about becoming my disciple?”

Hearing that, Michelle could imagine Mavreth’s expression if she accepted. She was already his disciple, so he wouldn’t be happy if she accepted another master.

Before Michelle could respond, Antony butted in. “Wait, wait! You can also become my disciple!”

Michelle stared at the two teachers in front of her, not knowing what to think. She understood that having no presence was extremely rare, but for them to directly take her in as their disciple… That seemed a tad bit excessive.

“Teachers, I don’t think I have that much talent to become your disciple. I can’t even cultivate,” Michelle finally spoke.

She also didn’t want to accept being their disciple because she was standing as someone else. In some time, she would have to shed her identity as Ana. Ana would have to die. And having a disciple die was a great shame for a teacher.

Michelle was quite interested in the two teachers and knew they would get along well, so she didn’t want to shame them like that.

“You don’t have talent?” Marcus didn’t believe a word she said. “Then what about the fact that you are already of Monarch rank? It was clearly said you were only of the Divine rank.”

Michelle felt her stomach tighten, but she kept a calm face. She couldn’t really come up with an explanation for that. From the start, she was planning to make it so that after getting into the academy, Ana found a method of cultivation suitable for her weak veins and started progressing rapidly. But it seemed she didn’t get the chance.

She wanted to do it exactly to prevent what had just happened. She was concealing her spirit energy and all other powers, but it was also to be expected that at some point she would meet someone who could see through her, whether it was a Spirit Healer or just someone sensitive to energies.

Originally, Michelle wasn’t worried about meeting Marcus. He was said to be a Master of Detection. In other words, he was supposed to be sensitive to presences, not energies. But it seemed she was wrong. He saw through her.

But did he already realize she wasn’t Ana Ostrich?

Still, Michelle knew she had to continue hiding her identity. “Teacher, I just found a cultivation method that seemed to sit well with me. But I can’t use it anymore.” She decided to twist a bit of what she was originally planning.

From Antony’s and Marcus’ faces, it couldn’t really be told whether they believed her. “And why can’t you use it anymore?” Marcus asked.

Michelle lowered her head a bit, as if she was unhappy. “The longer I used it, the weaker my spirit veins got. They got so weak they ended up sticking to my blood veins. After that, cultivation hurt.”

“Oh?” Marcus raised a brow, observing the brat in front of him. Then, he reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist.

Before Michelle could react, she felt something invade her bloodstream.

Then Marcus retracted his hand and the feeling disappeared. “Your spirit veins didn’t stick to your blood veins. They merged together,” he concluded.

Michelle felt her stomach twist. So not only was her teacher a Master of Detection, but also a Spirit Healer.

“What does that mean?” she decided to play dumb.

It didn’t matter whether Marcus did or did not see through her; he explained what he knew. “Only those with Spirit Soul Blood have their spirit and blood veins merged. And it can bring them quite some trouble.”

“But the strange thing is…” Marcus continued, “that you don’t possess Spirit Soul Blood.”

Michelle was surprised, but kept it under control. She wasn’t discovered? Was that because she was no longer a human, and only humans could have Spirit Soul Blood?

Marcus stared at Ana as if he knew what was going on. “But just because you don’t have Spirit Soul Blood doesn’t mean others won’t think you have it. That’s why you should have a powerful figure above you to protect you.”

The intention behind his words was clear. If Ana became his disciple, he would make sure nothing would happen to her considering the Spirit Soul Blood.

Michelle frowned. “But, teacher, as long as I keep myself concealed and don’t let anyone touch me, no one will ever figure out that my spirit and blood veins are merged.”

With that, Michelle retracted her shadow essence from her shadow. She wanted to see whether the two teachers could still spot her.

Marcus instantly put his full focus into spotting Michelle, but he couldn’t find any trace of her presence. It was like she didn’t exist at all.

A frown formed on his face. “Ana, did you mess with the Heavenly Law?” he asked into the wind.

Michelle appeared behind him, once again putting shadow essence into her shadow. “What do you mean, teacher?” she tilted her head in question.

Marcus turned to face her. “When people conceal themselves, they don’t lose their presence. They just match it with something nearby to blend in. And they can still be seen. But you achieved invisibility even though you were in a place where you should have easily been seen even without a presence. That can only be achieved if the Heavenly Law itself denies your existence.”

Michelle furrowed her brows. She didn’t know her messing with the Heavenly Law could be seen through so easily. “Teacher, didn’t you consider the fact that I could have disappeared to a place where you couldn’t see me and then concealed my presence?” she asked. She didn’t feel like admitting it yet.

Marcus glanced around a bit. “I’ve been living here for quite a few years. I know the presence of every plant and corner. You wouldn’t have been able to escape my probing. So when did you mess with the Heavenly Law?”

Michelle didn’t like the situation. “I have always been like this, teacher. It started appearing as I was growing.”

She said that knowing it sounded stupid, but at the same time she somehow believed that with the real Ana, that was the case. She, too, must have been ignored by the Heavenly Law; otherwise, Vincent wouldn’t have been able to follow Michelle and always spot her. Ana must have grown into being a denied being.

Marcus stared at Michelle. “How are you able to stay visible to others?” he asked. “You must have learned to change the states.”

Michelle didn’t want to explain that. It would show she had shadow essence. And as far as she knew, everyone was aware that Ana Ostrich didn’t have anything like that. She was just a cultivation cripple.

Marcus knew he wouldn’t get an answer easily. But he still refused to give up on the idea of making Michelle his disciple.

“Do you know we’ve met before?” he suddenly asked.

Michelle froze for a moment. She didn’t know anything about it.

Marcus continued. “You were about five years old when we came down to the Ostrich family residence. Back then, I was able to sense you after Vincent told me how he did it. But now, that method is no longer working. You’ve changed, Ana.”

Michelle wanted to say that that had been more than ten years ago, and that over such a period a person could greatly change, but she knew that was pointless. Inborn and natural ways of hiding one’s presence were impossible to change.

Marcus stared at Michelle for a while before sitting back down on the stone stool. “Does Vincent know you aren’t his daughter?”

Standing nearby, Antony wasn’t all that surprised. So it seemed he had also guessed everything.

In the end, they were brothers. It wasn’t surprising for them to think similarly and notice similar things.

Thinking about that, Michelle realized just how reckless she was when she entered the academy. From the start, Antony must have known she wasn’t Ana, because she couldn’t replicate Ana’s non-presence. Though hers was similar, for people who specialized in presence, they could see right through her.

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