The Master’s Mask Unveiled Again
Chapter 977 - 976: Lu Mian Has Two Beauties: Inner Beauty and Outer Beauty

Chapter 977: Chapter 976: Lu Mian Has Two Beauties: Inner Beauty and Outer Beauty

Elite Class assembly area.

boys surrounded the only girl in the group, bombarding her with questions from all sides.

The girl sat at the center of the crowd, smoothing her long hair and smiling with graceful elegance.

"Yutian, you’re our Elite Class’s very first female student since it was founded!"

The Elite Class had been established only three years ago. Over the past three years, it had admitted 89 students in total, but only Lu Yutian stood out as the single sprout, injecting life into the otherwise stagnant Elite and Standard classes.

"And not only that, Yutian, but your score of 736 directly broke Senior Fan Mengchuan’s record of 735! That’s absolutely insane!"

"Oh, it’s not such a big deal."

Lu Yutian waved it off with an approachable smile. She clearly enjoyed being the center of everyone’s attention, and even when awkward or oddball questions were asked, she maintained the refined elegance of a wealthy young lady, patiently responding to each one.

That was until someone finally remembered something and hesitantly asked, "Wait, weren’t we told there’s another student in our class? Isn’t the military training about to start? Why haven’t they shown up yet?"

With 30 spots in the class, only 29 had checked in so far, and everyone knew the final spot was one reserved specifically by Professor Mou Taohui.

Lu Yutian’s eyes dimmed slightly. "Any clue who it is?"

All she knew was that whoever it was had been given treatment far superior to hers. The dean had intentionally reserved the spot and had even personally arranged accommodations for the student—this left her feeling an immense sense of disparity.

"No idea. Professor Mou handled the process personally and didn’t let anyone else get involved."

"The professor’s paying so much attention? How high did they score?"

"Do you think it could be the Physics Department’s star student? That one who scored 789? I remember Professor Mou kept heading toward the Physics Department yesterday..."

The mention of 789 points made Lu Yutian’s expression grow even darker.

She currently held the highest score in the Elite Class, and she was the record holder. She had grown used to the feeling of standing at the pinnacle.

Yet, she hadn’t even enjoyed her spot at the top for five days before rumors of someone surpassing her record began to spread. It left her feeling bitterly unsatisfied.

In her eyes, scoring 789 wasn’t really all that impressive. After all, domestic students were naturally good at taking exams, likely dedicating countless hours behind the scenes to achieve such a score.

But such book-obsessed nerds couldn’t possibly compare to her self-taught brilliance.

Besides, she had the backing of her family’s business empire, as well as the support of her uncle and aunt. She figured her standing wasn’t likely to be threatened too much.

With this thought, Lu Yutian concealed her dissatisfaction, turning once more to the boys around her and offering a gentle smile. "No matter who they are, we’ll welcome them with open arms."

"Welcoming you is good enough for us!"

——

Lu Mian made a quick call to Xiao Qimo, reporting her schedule to him before heading toward her class.

Applied Physics was her primary major, so she decided she’d go through military training with the Physics class.

As for the Elite Class, that could wait until lessons started.

When Lu Mian arrived at the assembly point, all she saw was a large crowd. In the middle of the group, Shu Shu was bouncing enthusiastically, waving her arms in an effort to be noticed by Lu Mian despite her petite stature.

Lu Mian spotted her and strode in her direction.

Clad in a sharp, perfectly fitted blue camouflage uniform, her appearance looked like it had been custom-tailored.

Paired with her naturally aloof demeanor and tall, striking physique, anyone looking at her couldn’t help but wonder if she had undergone professional training.

"Mianmian!" Shu Shu’s eyes practically glued themselves to Lu Mian, brimming with infatuation.

She even wanted to blurt out, "Do you have a boyfriend? And can we loosen up on rigid distinctions like gender?"

Lu Mian responded with a warm, gentle smile.

The smile alone left all the boys in the Applied Physics class completely dumbstruck.

Oh my god, she’s breathtaking...

"Am I seeing an actual goddess?"

"Oh my lord, how does a STEM class have someone so insanely gorgeous? I’m melting!"

"Now I finally get why the upperclassmen call her the department darling! With this face, she could be the school’s darling! No, the campus queen, for sure!"

"Wait, wait, are you guys only focusing on her outer beauty? Did you forget about her insane inner brilliance?" someone chimed in, pausing dramatically. "She’s the one who scored a legendary 789 points!"

"..."

The crowd fell utterly silent.

Not a single word was uttered.

Ellipses floated above everyone’s heads like little clouds of despair and humility.

Shu Shu, capitalizing on her petite figure, pushed her way to the front and stood before Lu Mian, both excited and amazed. "Mianmian, you’re the legendary 789 scorer?! Quick, let me hug your leg!"

Standing a full head shorter than Lu Mian, Shu Shu bent slightly and clasped her arms around Lu Mian’s leg.

The male students: ...

We want to hug her too!

Qiao Yaning, who had been standing on the fringes of the crowd, looked at the scene of Lu Mian drowning in attention like she was untouchable, and let out a quiet sigh.

Wang Shiwei’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she clicked her tongue. "Lu Mian is something, huh? How could she keep something like this from her own roommate...?"

Qiao Yaning shook her head. "Maybe it’s because... she genuinely doesn’t care."

Getting a perfect score was as commonplace as having a meal for Lu Mian. Who would bother announcing to the world that they had rice for lunch?

During their time at prep school, Qiao Yaning had already known that Lu Mian could effortlessly score top marks even if she didn’t study—a true anomaly.

When Wang Shiwei inadvertently made eye contact with Lu Mian, she immediately waved enthusiastically, her smile lighting up. "Mianmian, you’re too amazing! I’m in awe of you!"

Qiao Yaning furrowed her brows slightly.

The Physics Class remained in a state of buzzed excitement for the next half hour, gleaming with pride!

Their celebration didn’t last long, however, as the school leadership abruptly informed them that they needed to quickly pack essential supplies. Their ten-day military training would take place at Chixia Sect.

Many of the students were both nervous and shocked.

"Training at Chixia Sect?! This is madness!"

"What do you mean by that?"

The other person explained, "If regular military training is like beginner-level practice, then training at Chixia Sect is the hell-level version! Just think about it!"

"Oh my god! Why do we suddenly have to train there?! What is the school even thinking?"

"Clearly, they just want us to suffer..."

——

Chixia Sect.

The complex of Chixia Sect’s traditional buildings was situated at the top of a modest mountain. It looked just like an ancient martial arts sect, with stone steps zigzagging up layer by layer from the base to the summit, encased in a dense bamboo forest. The air was clean and pristine, as though untouched by the modern world—a true idyllic paradise.

Many film crews frequently came here to shoot scenes, particularly those producing historical dramas or xianxia (immortal hero) series, all attracted by Chixia Sect’s ideal backdrop.

However, unlike the norm, the new students were not climbing the stairs to reach the summit. Instead, they were brought up the winding mountain roads by bus.

"How odd... I remember other universities came here for military training before, and their freshmen had to climb all the way up! After that, they immediately started standing at attention!"

"Seems Qing University has a sliver of compassion!"

"Or maybe this is just the sugar coating before the bitter medicine..."

At the mountain summit of Chixia Sect.

In front of everyone, a collection of ancient-style buildings stood tall and proud, radiating a classical charm.

Many students who hadn’t been exposed to this kind of traditional, refined architecture whipped out their phones to take pictures.

Shu Shu, an avid photography enthusiast, had made sure to cram her DSLR camera into her already packed luggage. The moment she got off the bus, she started snapping away like crazy.

Of course, her ultimate goal was to photograph Lu Mian.

Each time, she pretended to accidentally catch Lu Mian in a shot, then walked away as if nothing had happened—only to secretly rejoice afterward.

Lu Mian was fully aware of this yet didn’t say anything about it.

Instead, she briefly scanned her surroundings before striding in a particular direction.