All-rounder Artist

Of course, there was a sequence to be followed, the priority was certainly to finish “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”.

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 didn’t exceed one hundred and fifty thousand. It could be read in half a day at a normal reading speed——

Even if the deduction part required slower reading.

Lin Yuan’s 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 didn’t 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.

Lin Yuan asked his assistant Gu Dong.

Gu Dong made Lin Yuan a cup of tea and chuckled:

“You don’t 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!”

Lin Yuan then realized.

There was nothing surprising about Yang Zhongming’s victory.

Gu Dong chuckled:

“But 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 ‘Mariage d’Amour’.”

“Is that so?”

Lin Yuan became more interested immediately.

He put on his headphones, opened his computer, searched for Yang Zhongming’s piece, and began to listen.

It was a pop piano piece just the same…

That was hardly surprising; for classical piano to be enjoyed by both refined and vulgar, the difficulty level is too high.

Modern piano music that’s appreciated by everyone without a threshold is more common.

After listening, Lin Yuan nodded.

Maestro’s previous pieces lacked a kind of dominating presence that belonged to Maestro. However, Yang Zhongming’s piece this time had genuinely proved why Maestro was Maestro!

Strong!

This piece, called “Lucent”, would have been a hit even on Earth. It was an excellent piano piece.

However…

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 didn’t bring out their best works.

If the Maestros had all brought out pieces they had been carefully polishing over two years, perhaps he wouldn’t have won so easily as he did.

“System, a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“What level does Yang Zhongming rank at on Blue Star?”

“Top three in comprehensive composition ability.”

The System answered without hesitation.

Lin Yuan was shocked. He only knew that Yang Zhongming was a Maestro but he didn’t 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 isn’t small. From a global perspective, the base number is necessarily larger.

“It seems Yang Zhongming’s character card is more valuable than I thought.”

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked his assistant Gu Dong to call Feng Shuo and Xue Liang.

…

Feng Shuo and Xue Liang were both Lin Yuan’s disciples.

The two received the message and quickly arrived at Lin Yuan’s office.

“Master!”

After the two entered, they looked at Lin Yuan with eager eyes.

“Hmm.”

Lin Yuan looked at Feng Shuo’s composition ability, which had impressively reached the level of 642.

In other words:

Feng Shuo had already graduated!

Seeing the System’s prompt that Feng Shuo had reached the graduation standard, Lin Yuan smiled and proceeded to check Xue Liang’s composition ability.

He remembered that the last time he checked, Xue Liang’s composition ability was over six hundred.

However, he was surprised to find that Xue Liang’s 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 Yuan’s 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 he’s passed 700!

What exactly does 700 signify?

If we were to categorize the gold standard, in Lin Yuan’s 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, “Feng Shuo, you won’t need to continue learning with me for a while.”

“Why…”

Feng Shuo instantly turned pale, thinking that he might have made a mistake, he trembled as he spoke, “If there’s something you’re not satisfied with, just speak up, I’ll definitely correct it…”

“That’s not it.”

Lin Yuan said reassuringly, “You’ve done very well, precisely because of that, you’ve met my conditions to graduate, and like Xue Liang, you can stand on your own now.”

“Graduate?”

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 master’s guidance.

“As for Xue Liang…”

Lin Yuan hesitated and said, “Once I train another apprentice, I’ll resume classes with you, you’ve made great progress lately.”

“Master…”

After hearing these words, Xue Liang was moved to the brink of tears.

All of the effort he’d 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 didn’t know was that Lin Yuan had no idea of the efforts he’d been making behind the scenes.

Lin Yuan had simply been making judgements based on the System’s numerical evaluations…

However, this assessment was the most straightforward.

“So, I called you here today to ask you who you think should be my third apprentice, after the third apprentice, I’m probably not going to take any new ones easily.”

This was Lin Yuan’s 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.

“A third apprentice?”

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.

“No 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.”

“Okay”

“Since 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 department’s tasks.”

Lin Yuan was considering conducting a proper assessment of his two apprentices’ abilities.

“I accept!”

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?

“Me too!”

Xue Liang said excitedly, his thoughts similar to Feng Shuo’s.

Lin Yuan nodded, “The works you prepare for these two will be subject to my revisions. Now if you do well…”

What rewards would there be for doing well?

Lin Yuan didn’t say.

But if they did well, he would continue to tutor them.

Lin Yuan had a sense that with Yang Zhongming’s character card, plus the effect of the Teacher’s Halo, perhaps he could train a new Maestro junior.

Feng Shuo…

Xue Liang…

Both have potential…

Lin Yuan noticed that with Feng Shuo’s graduation, the system indicated that the effect of Teacher’s Halo had been enhanced…

As for why Lin Yuan did not plan to take any more apprentices after his third one, it’s 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 department’s tasks after all.

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ps:There are only two updates today, need to organize my thoughts. As per the usual, expect a minimum of 8000 words tomorrow.

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