Of course, there was a sequence to be followed, the priority was certainly to finish âThe Murder of Roger Ackroydâ.
Fortunately, this novel was only a little over a hundred thousand words. Even after Lin Yuan made adjustments to the background, the overall word count didnât exceed one hundred and fifty thousand. It could be read in half a day at a normal reading speedââ
Even if the deduction part required slower reading.
Lin Yuanâs typing speed was fast, he was quick at writing, it was only adjusting the background at the beginning that took a bit of effort.
March 5th.
Lin Yuan finally completed this novel.
After taking a breath, he went through the whole text again. After confirming that there had been no issues, Lin Yuan didnât rush to contact the publishing house. Instead, he took some time off to visit the company.
Inside the company.
The departments were buzzing with gossip, as if discussing some big scoop.
âWhat happened?â
Lin Yuan asked his assistant Gu Dong.
Gu Dong made Lin Yuan a cup of tea and chuckled:
âYou donât know! For the March music chart, our Starlight won first place again. This time, Teacher Yang Zhongming made his move, releasing a song he has been grinding for two years. As expected, he crushed the competition, just like you did last month!â
Lin Yuan then realized.
There was nothing surprising about Yang Zhongmingâs victory.
Gu Dong chuckled:
âBut you might not guess that just like you, Teacher Yang Zhongming also released a piano piece this time. Some people say that the quality of this piece is not inferior to âMariage dâAmourâ.â
âIs that so?â
Lin Yuan became more interested immediately.
He put on his headphones, opened his computer, searched for Yang Zhongmingâs piece, and began to listen.
It was a pop piano piece just the sameâ¦
That was hardly surprising; for classical piano to be enjoyed by both refined and vulgar, the difficulty level is too high.
Modern piano music thatâs appreciated by everyone without a threshold is more common.
After listening, Lin Yuan nodded.
Maestroâs previous pieces lacked a kind of dominating presence that belonged to Maestro. However, Yang Zhongmingâs piece this time had genuinely proved why Maestro was Maestro!
Strong!
This piece, called âLucentâ, would have been a hit even on Earth. It was an excellent piano piece.
Howeverâ¦
Considering it took Yang Zhongming, a Maestro, two years to create this piece, Lin Yuan did not find it surprising.
Without the aid of the System, how many two-year periods could even a Maestro afford to spend?
When he thought about it.
His victory against the Maestros before was because they didnât bring out their best works.
If the Maestros had all brought out pieces they had been carefully polishing over two years, perhaps he wouldnât have won so easily as he did.
âSystem, a question.â
âGo ahead.â
âWhat level does Yang Zhongming rank at on Blue Star?â
âTop three in comprehensive composition ability.â
The System answered without hesitation.
Lin Yuan was shocked. He only knew that Yang Zhongming was a Maestro but he didnât know that Yang Zhongming was in the top three Maestros on Blue Star!
If you consider the entire Blue Star, the total number of Maestros isnât small. From a global perspective, the base number is necessarily larger.
âIt seems Yang Zhongmingâs character card is more valuable than I thought.â
Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked his assistant Gu Dong to call Feng Shuo and Xue Liang.
â¦
Feng Shuo and Xue Liang were both Lin Yuanâs disciples.
The two received the message and quickly arrived at Lin Yuanâs office.
âMaster!â
After the two entered, they looked at Lin Yuan with eager eyes.
âHmm.â
Lin Yuan looked at Feng Shuoâs composition ability, which had impressively reached the level of 642.
In other words:
Feng Shuo had already graduated!
Seeing the Systemâs prompt that Feng Shuo had reached the graduation standard, Lin Yuan smiled and proceeded to check Xue Liangâs composition ability.
He remembered that the last time he checked, Xue Liangâs composition ability was over six hundred.
However, he was surprised to find that Xue Liangâs composition ability had reached 777!
Both his disciples had made him proud!
Leaving aside how quickly Feng Shuo achieved masterhood.
The potential Xue Liang has shown is beyond Lin Yuanâs expectations.
Lin Yuan had initially thought that after Xue Liang surpassed the 600 point barrier to reach the gold standard, he might stop progressing.
But now heâs passed 700!
What exactly does 700 signify?
If we were to categorize the gold standard, in Lin Yuanâs mind, it is divided into three tiers.
Benchmarks between 700 to 800 belong to the middle tier.
Those between 800 to 900 are among the strongest gold holders!
A case of hidden power suddenly unleashed?
In terms of innate abilities, Xue Liang definitely falls short compared to Feng Shuo.
But, after granting Xue Liang more autonomy, the fact that he could still progress is really a feat itself.
Perhaps Lin Yuan should pay more attention towards his apprentices.
After a thoughtful pause, Lin Yuan began, âFeng Shuo, you wonât need to continue learning with me for a while.â
âWhyâ¦â
Feng Shuo instantly turned pale, thinking that he might have made a mistake, he trembled as he spoke, âIf thereâs something youâre not satisfied with, just speak up, Iâll definitely correct itâ¦â
âThatâs not it.â
Lin Yuan said reassuringly, âYouâve done very well, precisely because of that, youâve met my conditions to graduate, and like Xue Liang, you can stand on your own now.â
âGraduate?â
Feng Shuo was startled, his expression slightly loosened, but there was still a hint of loss in his eyes. He wished he could continue learning under his masterâs guidance.
âAs for Xue Liangâ¦â
Lin Yuan hesitated and said, âOnce I train another apprentice, Iâll resume classes with you, youâve made great progress lately.â
âMasterâ¦â
After hearing these words, Xue Liang was moved to the brink of tears.
All of the effort heâd put in for so long suddenly felt so worth it!
He always knew that as long as he worked hard, his master would recognize his efforts!
What Xue Liang didnât know was that Lin Yuan had no idea of the efforts heâd been making behind the scenes.
Lin Yuan had simply been making judgements based on the Systemâs numerical evaluationsâ¦
However, this assessment was the most straightforward.
âSo, I called you here today to ask you who you think should be my third apprentice, after the third apprentice, Iâm probably not going to take any new ones easily.â
This was Lin Yuanâs objective.
He thought this task of selecting the third apprentice should be discussed with the opinions of his two current apprentices, as in his mind, he had decided to further strengthen his bond with his apprentices.
âA third apprentice?â
Feng Shuo and Xue Liang exchanged looks and were overtaken by emotion to think that their master would seek their opinions on such a matter.
âNo rush, take some time to think it over and help me identify potential candidates. After all, this will be your future junior brother or sister.â
âOkayâ
âSince the two of you have graduated, I should assign you some tasks. For the next few months, Xue Liang, you will write a song every month for Sun Yaohuo, and Feng Shuo, you will be in charge of Jiang Kui. You should know that these are our departmentâs tasks.â
Lin Yuan was considering conducting a proper assessment of his two apprenticesâ abilities.
âI accept!â
Feng Shuo loudly responded, feeling somewhat excited, as long as he completes his tasks successfully, he should be able to continue studying under his master, right?
âMe too!â
Xue Liang said excitedly, his thoughts similar to Feng Shuoâs.
Lin Yuan nodded, âThe works you prepare for these two will be subject to my revisions. Now if you do wellâ¦â
What rewards would there be for doing well?
Lin Yuan didnât say.
But if they did well, he would continue to tutor them.
Lin Yuan had a sense that with Yang Zhongmingâs character card, plus the effect of the Teacherâs Halo, perhaps he could train a new Maestro junior.
Feng Shuoâ¦
Xue Liangâ¦
Both have potentialâ¦
Lin Yuan noticed that with Feng Shuoâs graduation, the system indicated that the effect of Teacherâs Halo had been enhancedâ¦
As for why Lin Yuan did not plan to take any more apprentices after his third one, itâs because his mission is to train three apprentices.
For now, it is crucial to focus on the mission.
While testing the abilities of his two apprentices, Lin Yuan figured he could sneakily take it easy. If his apprentices absolutely need help, he could always step in. In fact, Lin Yuan was prepared for a big outlay, he would just exchange a few classics with the system to give to Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui later. He was committed to completing the departmentâs tasks after all.
ââââââââ
ps:There are only two updates today, need to organize my thoughts. As per the usual, expect a minimum of 8000 words tomorrow.